Innovation & the Board: Crafting a Compelling Narrative
For the second year, my team recently had the opportunity to share our innovation strategy with the board, engaging them with demos of what we're building and sharing our vision for the future.
As an innovation leader, presenting our story to the board of directors is a pivotal moment. It's our opportunity to showcase the progress, impact, and future of our initiatives.
I've often believed that I have a healthy dose of anxiety in my role. Having our teams is a privilege afforded to us only if we continuously deliver value back to the organization. That ever-present feeling means we continuously think about how we can use every moment of our time with leaders to share our approach and get feedback we can action.
Here's how we anchor to three key elements to craft our Innovation story at a level appropriate for the board:
1. Demonstrate Alignment
When we tell our story, we begin by setting the stage with our approach to innovation and how it aligns with enterprise strategy. I've written before about how our Innovation teams plot trends on a radar and focus our work into building products within our strike zone. That story starts with explaining where we will feel confident about what we're exploring, vs. where we're filled with more questions than answers.
Most industries thrive on technological advancements, so we need to briefly touch on the cutting-edge technologies we've explored, such as AI, blockchain, or cloud computing, to bring the trends closer to reality.
Finally, since we run our lab integrated into the business, our innovation narrative weaves seamlessly into the organization, demonstrating how each initiative is a stepping stone towards achieving overarching goals. Sometimes trends we're chasing may seem ahead of aspects of enterprise strategy, but our internal alignment reassures the board that innovation isn't a wild card but a calculated move towards growth.
2. Create Impact
Having compelling metrics and stories to illustrate how our innovations shift the market landscape help us anchor in something critically important to the board - data.
Even though the Board is rooted in data, your Innovation metrics should look different than other parts of the organization, so always take an opportunity to explain why. I've written before about how we replace ROI with Time-to-Value, for example. That's because ROI as a success metric can risk motivating the team to test into products and trends that have known factors which can have an accurate projected return. Since our mandate is more focused on de-risking the unknown and gaining a competitive advantage when a market may not yet exist, we focus on how quickly we can drive value through various stages or our development lifecycle.
For products already in the customer's hands, we're often able to present clear customer adoption rates, if we've outmaneuvered competitors, and any disruptions we've spearheaded. The goal is to convey the tangible value innovation has brought to customers and, as thought leaders, the industry at large.
3. Advance Culture
Innovation isn't just about technology; it's about people. For us, it's important to highlight the cultural shifts within the organization that have supported innovation; whether it's fostering a mindset of continuous learning, encouraging cross-functional collaboration, or empowering teams to take calculated risks, these cultural elements are crucial for sustaining innovation.
As the old saying goes, though, we always want to leave them wanting more. We wrap by giving the board a glimpse into the more distant future. This roadmap is exciting and visionary. During this section, we'll use phrases like "we're curous about...", "we could imagine a world where..." or "some of the questions we have are...". Often the only realistic expectations for this piece of the vision is that we will learn, adjust, and report back...when we meet again next year.
After crafting the right story, we focus on being ready to engage with actionable recommendations on how they can support and participate in the company's innovation journey. Whether it's through strategic guidance, resource allocation, or general oversight, their involvement can be vital.
Painting a picture of a future where the company continues to lead and redefine the landscape should leave the Board feeling informed, inspired, and ready to back your innovative vision.
