Innovation That Drives Business — Not More Meetings.
Innovation isn’t optional anymore—it’s survival.
With markets shifting, technology evolving, and customer expectations changing at lightning speed, companies that don’t innovate risk becoming irrelevant. In fact, experts predict that half of the S&P 500 will disappear in the next decade.
But here’s the problem: Many organizations jump into innovation projects without aligning their core business first—which often creates more chaos than success.
If you want your innovation project to drive real business growth instead of just becoming an expensive distraction, you need a structured approach.
Read on or WATCH THE VIDEO. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Align on Your Core Business First
Before you dive into the future, make sure your present is solid.
If your leadership team isn’t aligned on what your company does best today, launching an innovation initiative will be like building on quicksand. Your project will lack direction, drain resources, and create internal confusion.
If you’re unsure whether your team is fully aligned on your core business strengths, pause and fix that first before moving forward.
Step 2: Use a Future-Back Approach
Most business leaders think from the present forward—reacting to what’s happening now.
The problem? By the time you react, it’s often too late.
Instead, use a future-back approach:
Identify key game changers coming to your industry.
Visualize where you want your business to be in five years.
Work backward to define the innovation focus areas that will get you there.
This keeps your company ahead of the curve instead of constantly playing catch-up.
Step 3: Choose the Right People for Your Innovation Leadership Team
Innovation isn’t a solo effort. You need a team.
Pick three to seven people from your leadership group who:
✔ Have diverse perspectives (not just the usual voices in the room).
✔ Are willing to challenge assumptions and push boundaries.
✔ Understand the company’s long-term vision and core strengths.
This group will be responsible for defining the big focus areas for innovation—NOT for coming up with specific product ideas (yet).
Step 4: Brainstorm Future Game Changers
As a leadership team, identify the biggest external forces that will impact your business.
What major technology shifts are happening?
How are customer preferences evolving?
What market disruptions could change the playing field?
Now, arrange these on a timeline based on when they’ll have a significant impact on your industry.
This exercise gives you a realistic roadmap of where the world is going—so you can innovate proactively instead of reacting too late.
Step 5: Define Your Innovation Focus Areas
Now that you have a vision of the future, it’s time to decide:
What areas of your business need innovation the most?
These could include:
Reinventing a core business function (e.g., upgrading an outdated process).
Developing a disruptive new product or service.
Expanding into a new industry or geography.
Reimagining your business model entirely.
IMPORTANT: At this stage, you’re not coming up with specific product ideas yet. You’re identifying broad focus areas where innovation will have the highest impact.
Step 6: Align Innovation Areas With Your Vision
Before assigning resources to an innovation area, gut-check it against your company’s core identity.
For each focus area, ask:
✔ Does this align with our long-term vision?
✔ Does it support our company values and culture?
✔ Will it create a powerful value proposition that attracts customers, talent, and partners?
If an idea doesn’t support your bigger business strategy, cut it now before wasting time and resources.
Step 7: Define the Scope for Each Innovation Project
For each innovation focus area, answer these questions:
What’s the challenge? Define the specific problem you’re solving.
Why this challenge? How does it align with your company’s core strengths?
Who will you serve? Which customer segments are you creating value for?
What are your weak points? Identify assumptions that need testing or unknowns that must be addressed.
What does success look like? Define clear success criteria—so you know when you’ve achieved your goal.
Step 8: Set Up for Execution (or Risk Wasting Time)
A great innovation ideas means nothing if it doesn’t drive your business. Here’s what you need to do:
Assign a dedicated innovation team and team lead. No accountability = no progress.
Set a budget. Unfunded innovation projects lead to frustration and failure.
Establish a timeline. Without deadlines, projects drag on indefinitely.
Decide on your execution framework. If using structured innovation toolkits, set milestones every 2-4 weeks. If not, triple your estimated timeline.
It sounds counterintuitive, but structure is the key to brilliant innovation.
Final Thoughts: Innovation Needs a Plan, Not Just Ideas
The reason most innovation projects fail isn’t a lack of ideas—it’s a lack of how to make decisions and move forward.
By aligning on your core business, thinking future-back, defining clear focus areas, and structuring execution, you set your company up to innovate in a way that actually leads to growth.
Let’s Talk About Your Innovation Strategy. I have a simple framework or two that
I’d love to discuss what you’ve learned so far and how my experience can contribute to your company’s growth.
Let’s talk. Schedule a call here.
