How to Align Innovation with Business Strategy

As a brand marketing leader on the hook for Innovation and growth, you likely aren't short on ideas, but picking the "best" ones can be a conundrum. Innovation agencies often focus on idea generation, and because they're good at what they do, the output can be overwhelming.  What’s more, you know it's a survival of the fittest for your finite money and focus. I've learned that 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨. You've got your no brainers 👍, and your clear Heck to the No's 👎. Then, you’re left with the rest: the stretch ideas, the exciting ones you want to nurture, but that you can foresee will be HARD. So, how to move forward? Suit up in your armor of 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Every company does it differently, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Here's a Checklist of criteria to help you and your team Focus and Stick to your Strategic Guns as things get hairy (which they will). If you use this list consistently, you're winning way before you launch! ☑️𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: Ideas that fit your company's mission and goals are more likely to get internal momentum 👏and succeed in the long run. ☑️𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘵: my drum to beat! Conduct whatever degree of research fits your risk profile and budget to understand trends, consumer, and customer needs. Ideas that address real pain points make the story easier to tell...for ALL your stakeholders. ☑️𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: Ask whether it fills a gap to stand out in a crowded space--i.e., most markets today! If not, is it 'a better mousetrap'? ☑️𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵: If you're going to retail, early feedback from top accounts will give you points for partnership AND help refine your ideas before going too far down the path. ☑️𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: Ask the experts what it will take to deliver, then assess the likelihood you can overcome the obstacles--financial, technical, or human. ☑️𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 & 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: Think ahead to the potential pitfalls and how you’d handle them, to try to head off issues before they turn to roadblocks🚧. ☑️𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴:  the sooner you can gauge the potential to make💰, the faster you can move on the ideas that have a prayer. Innovators know the winding road ϟ from idea to launch is not for the faint of ♥...there will be blood, sweat 😬and even😢. But if you've pressure tested & prioritized, the winners 🏆will be primed to make the 🎆 you and your stakeholders are counting on. GO GET EM! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? #innovation #strategy #brandgrowth

How do we create alignment in our organization towards our goals? I've seen too many teams struggle to translate high-level strategy into their daily work. The disconnect between executives' strategic vision and the teams building the products is a common pitfall. This is what I call “The missing middle”. I developed the Product Strategy Canvas to help teams hone in on the middle, and figure out how to connect the dots. This canvas is designed to help teams and executives align on the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of their product strategy. It's a visual and collaborative tool that breaks down the overarching strategy into actionable components. By using this canvas, teams can ensure that every feature, every sprint, and every release is a step towards the strategic goals of the company. Here's how it helps: 1. Clarity: It provides a clear framework for discussing and defining the key elements of your product strategy. 2. Alignment: It aligns cross-functional teams around a common understanding of the product vision, goals, and initiatives. 3. Focus: It helps prioritize efforts by making it evident what contributes to the strategy and what doesn't. 4. Communication: It serves as a communication tool that can be used to keep stakeholders informed and engaged. The Product Strategy Canvas is more than just a document; it's a catalyst for strategic thinking and a beacon for product development. It's about making sure that every team member, from engineers to marketers, understands the part they play in the company's success. 🌟 Have you used the Product Strategy Canvas? Share your experiences and insights in the comments, I’d love to hear them. You can also learn more about he Strategy Canvas in our Product Foundations course at productinstitute.com. 🚀 Already familiar with it? ‘Product Operations’ explains what data is necessary to help determine each one of these levels and how ProductOps can help you get it: Grab my new book with Denise Tilles here: https://a.co/d/8biyITB #StrategyCanvas #BusinessInnovation #ValueCreation #CompetitiveStrategy #BusinessGrowth #VisualMapping #StrategicPlanning #Leadership #ProductStrategy

Had a great time at yesterday’s InnoLead LinkedIn Live. Thanks to everyone who joined the conversation on how to build leadership support for innovation. Here are a few thoughts I shared based on real experience in the field: 𝟭. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀. In your first 100 days, go to each business unit and ask: “What’s your #1 problem?” Get them to size the cost of not solving it. Then commit to fixing it and tie your success to that number. Innovation as a Service, tied to business pain. 𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. When leadership changes, don’t wait. Understand their goals, pressure, and allies. Present your current portfolio and ask: “Do we need to adjust this to match your priorities?” Give them early wins they can show internally. And what is better - that they can own. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲. If your impact is unclear or your focus isn’t seen as critical then you’ll be first in line when cuts come. So, make your value visible. If needed, find protection elsewhere in the org. Someone who believes in what you’re building and benefits from backing you. What do you do to ensure leadership trusts and supports your work? #CorporateInnovation #InnovationLeadership #ExecutionMatters #InnoleadLive #StartupMindset

A simple alignment exercise One challenge I see slowing down innovation in audit and accounting firms is a lack of alignment across the decision makers. This is sometimes, but not always, a product of the Partnership model and the desire for the views and votes of all Partners to count equally. While one long-term, permanent solution to this problem is moving to a corporate structure (as BDO US recently accounted), progress can be made to better align the Partner group on innovation decisions through a simple and quick stakeholders exercise. I have run this multiple times with Partner groups and always found it a valuable exercise. Consider running it at your next partner meeting! What you will need: 1. Cubes, marbles, or something comparable. You need 4 of these per person involved in the exercise. 2. Shoe boxes, bags (not transparent), or something comparable. You need 4 in total. Write on the 4 boxes “Clients”, “Our team”, “Partners”, and “Regulators”. How to run the exercise: 1. Explain to the group there are 4 defined stakeholders who you feel should be considered in your innovation decision making process (the 4 listed above and now written on the boxes). The exercise is to collectively prioritize those stakeholders to help innovation decision making. 2. Allocate 4 cubes to each person participating in the exercise. 3. Place the 4 boxes next to each other on a table at the side of the room. 4. Each participant must then allocate their cubes to the boxes, based on how important they feel that stakeholder is to the firm’s innovation efforts. 5. Once everyone has done this (I suggest over a coffee break) open the boxes at the front of the room and tally the cubes. 6. Discuss the results as a group and how they should impact your future decision making. 7. When decision making time comes around, reference back to this exercise when making innovation decisions. Instead of having to hear every Partner’s opinion, all Partners can now adopt this collective mindset and make decisions according. Notes for the exercise: 1. Participants can either allocate all 4 of their cubes to 1 box if they feel only 1 stakeholder should be considered, or can allocate 1 cube to each box if they feel all 4 are equally important. Or any other combination in between. 2. The exercise is designed so it can be anonymous until the debrief phase. During the debrief, participants often share how they allocated the cubes and their rationale. This is not an essential part of the exercise, but it can be very insightful hearing how everyone approached the process of allocating their cubes. 3. Consider the stakeholders before the exercise - the 4 discussed here are based on regulated services innovation such as audit. If you run this exercise let me know how it goes!