Horizon 1 covers the mature business that generates today's cash. Horizon 2 covers rising ventures on a path to scale. Horizon 3 covers early experiments and research whose payoff is distant and uncertain. The model asks leaders to hold all three live simultaneously, since a portfolio weighted only to Horizon 1 quietly starves its own future.
Want to see a strategy decision that keeps its reasoning all the way into delivery? See it in a 20-minute demo →
Each horizon carries a different logic for metrics, funding, and governance. Horizon 1 is judged on efficiency and margin; Horizon 3 on learning and optionality. Confusing the two—demanding near-term profit from a long-term bet—is a common way promising ideas die.