Challenge Thinking, Lead Change!

I take very seriously my role in delivering on our company tagline – “Challenge Thinking, Lead Change” – especially the “challenge thinking” piece. In some companies, challenging thinking can get you into trouble fast, especially if you challenge leadership thinking. Some might describe this as “a career-limiting move.” But not leaders in more digitally mature companies. The most progressive companies want critical thinkers who see the world differently. So, I want to help you be more effective at challenging thinking in a positive way.

In the business innovation workshops I do with business executives, I work to shift the thinking of the team: helping them to see their world differently, more through the eyes of their customer. Over the years, I’ve found frameworks can help accelerate this process. For a while, I used the business model canvas framework for guiding teams on this journey, but I found limitations for how well it works in a large enterprise setting. It’s a great tool for startups, but it can be challenging for existing businesses with large P&Ls to defend.

In particular, there is a need for an innovation framework which roots executives in the mind of the customer – helping create empathy for the customer along the lines of design thinking and quickly revealing disruptive opportunities.

That’s how Forrester’s Business Innovation Canvas was born.

Forrester’s Business Innovation Canvas

Business Innovation Canvas
Source: Forrester 2018

Indeed, we applied a design-thinking approach to developing the framework itself; the first iterations of the canvas were tested with select members of Forrester Leadership Boards and refined based on feedback. And we’ll continue to refine it as we go forward.

I encourage you to use this framework to help reshape your team’s thinking around how your company will use emerging technologies to deliver customer outcomes in new ways.

If you would like to learn more about applying the innovation canvas in your business, there’s a short webinar available to download as well as the Forrester report “Accelerate Disruption With The Business Innovation Canvas.”

If you’re a client, you can also schedule a 30-minute inquiry to discuss how you can apply the innovation canvas in your own business (click here). (If you would like to schedule an executive business innovation workshop, contact your account manager, or, if you are not a client, click here.)