Every growth leader is sooner or later faced with the challenge of turning a minority opinion into the majority viewpoint. Typically, the innovator will have had time to develop the innovation in a very small group environment, where it has become clear that it is an idea worthy of commitment from the larger enterprise. The enterprise at large is always a highly-focused business delivery machine in its own right, and finding a way to gain a hearing and get the innovation adopted can feel like jumping from the platform onto a moving train. Getting across this gap is hard work and requires a specific strategy of its own.
I have written here about the key tools to use within the cross-functional teams. Today’s post speaks to the next step of operationalizing the team’s work. What we are talking about now is getting the innovation recognized and adopted by the key decision makers of the enterprise, who are typically very wary of “new” and “disruptive” products or services.
There are several common boundaries in most firms that innovation is resisted by – the classics being sales, operations and the CFO. This is really no surprise as we invest in systems and procedures to stabilize these areas on behalf of our stakeholders; innovation, by definition, threatens that stability.
Force field analysis, borrowed from organizational development, gives us a useful visual of what’s involved here. If you are not familiar with this tool, it involves thinking through the forces that stabilize the status quo, and taking each one in turn so you may think about how to gain influence and move the status quo in a desired direction.
A few examples here:
If you’re planning a discussion with the business leader of an operation, you need to have a very put together discussion of the business implications of your innovation that is based on your understanding of the current business. It will be a very short session if you have not done your homework and are unable to speak to how this will work in the existing channels, customer service support teams and sales.
Similarly, if you approach an operations lead without a clear plan of how your innovation will affect the operation, and if you are looking for a beta, be prepared to suggest how this would be partitioned from the core production operation. Additionally, if you’re putting this innovation in a customer’s hands, what are your plans for both long-term support and any liability that may be incurred?
Lastly, if you’re talking to the CFO, understand that it’s all about risk and dollars. Addressing each risk systematically, with some estimates of up and downside investments, are key. To close the above analogy, doing your operations homework is like running alongside the train. Once you’re up to speed, you can simply step over to the platform — and avoid making that difficult leap.
Let’s be very clear…I am talking about a validated innovation, where you have done the work to de-risk the business model, and have the data and analytics to make your case. If you’ve met these goals, let’s get to work.
3 Steps to Developing Influence
First, spend time understanding the concerns of the decision maker from their viewpoint by studying the leaders that you need to work with and understanding the pressures and measurements that they are attuned to respond to. Let them know you have thought through the risks and propose a proactive way to manage them. Each conversation needs to start with the big “Why” we are undertaking this effort. If your team has done their homework, this should already be self evident.
Second, spend time with the decision maker’s “wing men” before you approach the decision maker. Spend time getting to know who their go-to influencers are, and talk with them first. Show them the well-prepared visuals and analytics and listen carefully to their top of mind responses so you can learn from their insight and improve your messaging.
Third, remember that every good innovator hears “no” a lot. Listen carefully and clarify objections as they come up. Then take them back to your team and sponsors so you can work them into your program and improve the robustness of your work. Remember: “No” for an innovator just means, “not yet.”
A fun example from history is the breakout effort of Lee Iacocca when he did the Mustang project at Ford. He had all the issues outlined above – weak management support, low budgets, and extremely resistant culture – yet they persevered…selling more than one million units in the first year when the forecast was just 80,000.
There are no guarantees of success in any endeavor, but I have seen teams lay foundations for acceptance through perseverance and hard work. Remember that resistance is simply the organization’s way of making sure it only implements the best stuff – receiving pushback is just another step on the journey.
I would love to hear your thoughts about the need to gain influence as an innovator. Please email me or Tweet me with your ideas and feedback.
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