Companies are fixated on innovation nowadays. Reorganizing ideas within a narrative or Ted-style Talk accelerates progress with less resisteance. Companies, startups or established, now experiment with futuristic hackathongs and “innovation garages” to boost product invention. We know much of corporat innovation travels along well-orchestrated pathways-a neat tech breakthrough, a product owner, and an orderly progression through stage-gate and successful launch. Sometimes, a “crazy” idea emerges from a lone entrepreneur fighting the system, overcoming the odds and benefitting from innovation story telling. Such instances are idiosyncratic, but share the value of effective innovation story telling. In business, innovation story telling remains vital. Today’s info overloard makes the soft aspects crucial for idea visibility. It is important how people frame their innovation stories to create differentiation and attract attention.
EuGrantMe analyzes numerous plans, offering three lessons for managers and entrepreneurs in diverse organizations, emphasizing compelling and emotional storytelling.
The Disconnect between theory and effective innovation story telling
“Fast follower” and “self-cannibalization” describe firms innovating business models. Some entrepreneurs reject these terms, finding them uncomfortable. As a result, we redefined them as “Best prevails” and “Ninja Transformer.”
The “Best prevails” innovator takes the measure of a competitor who may be dominating a market with an acceptable product, and then leaps to the front with something even better. Apple is a good example for that. It’s about winning through cunning, instead of using the conventional playbook of scaling a similar product with heavy investment to maintain share. Innovators find “fast follower” laacking emotion; no one’s won by touting imitation. “Best prevails” emphasizes innovation, outwitting competitors through seized opportunities. Apple exemplifies this by transforming Blackberry’s phone functionality into an enhanced experience using mobile devices. It got noticed by business and individual customers as well and toppled Blackberry.
The “Ninja Transformer” story has a major shift. Instead of the innovator taking on the establishment, this one is about the establishment challenging itself. It’s a common occurrence in business. Companies often disrupt themselves by cannibalizing their legacy products before their upstart competitors do so. WPP is a good example of that. However, innovators somehow perceive this and state that this understates the essence of what they had achieved, and they didn’t want to position themselves as aggressively killing off declining product lines. Ninja Transformers bear in mind that people want to hear about the resurrection rather than the demise of crucifixion.
The Power of Opportunism
Approximately 35 percent of our clients fall into “classic” innovators categories, which still enjoy broad resonance.
Opportunism involves stumbling over something unusual, and then having the foresight or perspective to capitalize on it. What makes that such an attractive story? It’s the coincidence of seemingly independent things. In a flash of chance, 3M, realized that an unsuccessful type of glue it designed could also be used to produce sticky notes. Surprising connections such as these set off a chain of milestones that culminate in a commercial opportunity. So to build this story line, think about the improbable combination of ideas that got you started and remember that an opportunity is not the same as chance—you were wise enough, when something surprising happened, to see its potential.
Grit and Outsiders
The grit story theme (or “If don’t succeed at first instance”) is all about hard work and perseverance. Things don’t go according to plan, but you conscientiously refine and adapt your idea, and eventually, like Thomas Edison, you wind up with a working lightbulb after a thousand failed attempts. How could this not be compelling to investors, customers, or an R&D committee? Just remember that to close the story loop, grit needs to show progress. Better not to dwell on mistakes and go around in circles. Emphasize how “learning” and “experimentation” and “pivoting” made the perseverance pay off.
In the outsider category, the innovator is fighting the system—the regulators and internal procedures that block progress. Unyielding creators such as Elon Musk are the role models. They pit themselves against mere incrementalism and me-too products, while rejecting the usual idea-development pathways and timetables. Outsider innovators take on the mantle of the fighter who thrives in battle and relishes proving someone wrong. “Outsider” means not pivoting to get to victory but sticking doggedly to your vision. So you’ll need to convince the world how your idea challenges orthodoxy, takes on vested interests, and—after many struggles—has been proved right.
Surfing the Wave
The above approaches to innovation story telling are valuable. It’s crucial to note that about half our clients focus on harnessing external forces. This notion of riding waves is incredibly powerful, so much so that we defined a class for its opposite (“before the big wave”). However, it boasts just a few bold visionary start-ups who find it hard winning support from investors who rarely share their views. The story line of external forces (with quite a few examples from Greek mythology) propelling things forward at a unique point in history typically credits the idea originator for being in the right place at the right time, while confidently navigating the economic or political currents that have combined to make success almost inevitable.
And…
There may be other story lines we can come up with, but we are sure the ones featured in this article will attract attention because they are timeless and tap a range of heuristics. The ability to story-tell ideas in an attractive way is important for reaching customers and investors. It particularly true for the world of innovation because of the enormous levels of uncertainty involved in creating something new that is economically viable, scalable and long-term sustainable.
At EuGrantMe, we are passionate about fostering innovation and empowering ambitious minds to flourish. Our mission revolves around providing top-notch grant writing services for the EIC Accelerator and Horizon grants in Europe, enabling our customers to unlock the full potential of their groundbreaking ideas.
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