Category Archives: collaboration

Effective Collaboration Strategies for Startups and Small Businesses

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

Collaboration is a key component of success for startups and small businesses. By working together, teams can achieve greater results and overcome challenges more efficiently. However, collaboration is not always easy to achieve. It requires good communication, trust, and a shared vision. In this article, we will explore some effective collaboration strategies for startups and small businesses, as well as two case studies of successful collaborations.

1. Clear Communication: One of the most important aspects of effective collaboration is clear communication. Teams must be able to communicate their ideas, goals, and concerns openly and honestly. This can help avoid misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is on the same page. Regular team meetings, emails, and project management tools can all help facilitate clear communication within a team.

Case Study 1: Startup A is a small software development company that specializes in creating mobile apps. The team at Startup A struggled with communication, which led to missed deadlines and low morale among team members. To address this issue, the team implemented a daily stand-up meeting where everyone would share their progress, challenges, and goals for the day. This simple change in communication helped the team stay on track and build stronger relationships with each other.

2. Build Trust: Trust is another crucial element of effective collaboration. Team members must trust each other to do their work effectively and have each other’s backs when things get tough. Building trust can take time, but it is essential for a team to function well. Encouraging transparency, respecting each other’s opinions, and celebrating successes together can all help foster trust within a team.

Case Study 2: Small Business B is a marketing agency that works with various clients to create marketing campaigns. The team at Small Business B struggled with trust issues, as team members were often working in silos and not sharing their work with each other. To address this issue, the team implemented a project management tool where all team members could track their progress, share files, and communicate with each other. This improved transparency and collaboration within the team, leading to more successful campaigns and happier clients.

Conclusion: Effective collaboration is essential for startups and small businesses to succeed. By implementing clear communication strategies and building trust within a team, businesses can achieve greater results and overcome challenges more efficiently. The case studies of Startup A and Small Business B demonstrate the positive impact that effective collaboration can have on a team’s success. By prioritizing collaboration, startups and small businesses can create a strong foundation for growth and innovation.

Bottom line: Futurology is not fortune telling. Futurists use a scientific approach to create their deliverables, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to engage in futurology themselves.

Image credit: misterinnovation.com

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Collaborative Design for Disruption

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Exploring the power of collaboration and co-creation in designing innovative solutions to industry challenges.

Collaborative Design for Disruption

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, disruption is the norm rather than the exception. As industries face increasingly complex challenges, the ability to innovate and adapt quickly is essential for survival. Traditional top-down approaches to problem-solving are no longer effective in this dynamic environment. Instead, organizations are turning to collaborative design and co-creation to harness the power of collective intelligence and creativity.

Collaborative design refers to the process of bringing together diverse stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners, and experts, to co-create solutions to complex problems. By leveraging the unique perspectives and expertise of each participant, organizations can uncover new insights, challenge assumptions, and develop innovative solutions that are more likely to succeed in the market.

Case Study 1: Healthcare Industry

One industry that has successfully embraced collaborative design is the healthcare sector. In a case study published in the Harvard Business Review, a large hospital network in the United States faced a significant challenge in reducing patient readmissions. Despite implementing various initiatives, readmission rates remained stubbornly high. Recognizing the need for a fresh approach, the hospital network engaged patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and administrators in a collaborative design process to identify the root causes of readmissions and co-create solutions.

Through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and design thinking workshops, the diverse team uncovered a range of factors contributing to readmissions, including poor communication between healthcare providers and patients, inadequate discharge planning, and limited access to post-discharge care. Armed with these insights, the team developed a series of innovative solutions, such as a mobile app for patients to track their symptoms and communicate with their care team, a personalized discharge checklist, and a telehealth program for remote monitoring.

The results were impressive. Within six months of implementing the new initiatives, the hospital network saw a 20% reduction in readmission rates, leading to significant cost savings and improved patient outcomes. By embracing collaborative design, the organization was able to tap into the collective wisdom of its stakeholders and co-create solutions that addressed the root causes of the problem.

Case Study 2: Automotive Industry

Another industry that has leveraged the power of collaboration and co-creation is the automotive sector. In a case study published by McKinsey & Company, a leading car manufacturer faced a fierce competition from new entrants in the electric vehicle market. To stay ahead of the curve, the company knew it needed to innovate quickly and develop cutting-edge electric vehicles that would appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

Rather than relying solely on its internal R&D teams, the car manufacturer decided to collaborate with independent designers, engineers, and sustainability experts to co-create a new electric vehicle concept. Through a series of design sprints, prototyping sessions, and user testing, the diverse team developed a revolutionary electric vehicle that combined state-of-the-art technology, sustainable materials, and a sleek design.

The result was a game-changer. The new electric vehicle received rave reviews from consumers and industry experts, catapulting the car manufacturer to the forefront of the electric vehicle market. By embracing collaborative design and tapping into external expertise, the organization was able to break free from its traditional mindset and push the boundaries of innovation.

Conclusion

Collaborative design and co-creation are powerful tools for tackling industry challenges and driving innovation. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, organizations can harness the collective intelligence and creativity of their teams to develop novel solutions that address the root causes of complex problems. As industries face increasing disruption, those that embrace collaborative design will be better equipped to thrive in the face of change.

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Building an Innovation Ecosystem

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Engaging Stakeholders for Success

Engaging Stakeholders for Success: Engaging Stakeholders for Success

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

Innovation is the lifeblood of any thriving economy and organization. It is a catalyst for growth, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability. However, fostering a culture of innovation requires more than just a single organization’s efforts. It demands the creation of a collaborative ecosystem that engages diverse stakeholders. This thought leadership article explores the importance of building an innovation ecosystem and presents two case study examples to demonstrate how engaging stakeholders can lead to remarkable success.

Case Study 1: Silicon Valley’s Innovation Ecosystem

Silicon Valley, located in California, has long been synonymous with innovation and technological advancements. Its success can be attributed to the establishment of a robust innovation ecosystem that engages a wide range of stakeholders. Academic institutions like Stanford University and UC Berkeley provide a constant influx of fresh talent and cutting-edge research. Investors and venture capitalists fuel entrepreneurial ventures by providing funding and mentorship opportunities. Government support in terms of favorable policies, infrastructure development, and grants has also played a crucial role. Furthermore, industry leaders like Google, Apple, and Facebook have fostered an environment of collaboration by establishing open innovation programs and incubators. The interconnectedness of these stakeholders has created a unique ecosystem that promotes innovation, propelling Silicon Valley to the forefront of the global tech landscape.

Key Takeaway: Successful innovation ecosystems require the active involvement of academia, investors, government, and industry leaders. A collaborative approach that connects these stakeholders enhances the exchange of knowledge, resources, and opportunities, catapulting the region’s innovation capabilities.

Case Study 2: Barcelona’s Smart City Initiative

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, Spain, has gained international recognition for its smart city initiatives. The city has embraced technology and innovation to enhance the quality of life for its residents. One of the key factors behind Barcelona’s success is its focus on engaging stakeholders in the public and private sectors. The local government partnered with technology companies, research institutes, and universities to develop innovative solutions for urban challenges. For instance, the implementation of smart mobility systems, such as electric buses and bike-sharing programs, was made possible through collaborations with technology companies like IBM and Cisco. Additionally, Barcelona created a dedicated Smart City Campus that serves as a hub for research, testing, and incubation of new urban technologies. By engaging a wide range of stakeholders, Barcelona has transformed itself into a leading smart city that offers improved sustainability, efficient services, and a higher quality of life for its citizens.

Key Takeaway: Engaging stakeholders from both public and private sectors is essential for cities to successfully implement and drive innovation initiatives. A collaborative ecosystem that fosters partnerships, co-creation, and knowledge exchange enables cities to leverage technology for sustainable urban development.

Conclusion

Building an innovation ecosystem that engages stakeholders is crucial for organizations and cities aiming to achieve long-term success. As demonstrated by the case studies of Silicon Valley and Barcelona, collaboration between academia, investors, government, and industry leaders is a potent driver of innovation. By creating an environment that nurtures collaboration, knowledge exchange, and resource sharing, organizations and cities can fuel their innovation capabilities and achieve remarkable outcomes. Embracing stakeholder engagement will not only foster innovation but also contribute to economic growth, societal well-being, and a sustainable future.

Bottom line: Futures research is not fortune telling. Futurists use a scientific approach to create their deliverables, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to engage in futures research themselves.

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Co-Creation and Innovation

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Co-Creation and Innovation

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

Co-creation has become a major part of the innovation process, allowing companies to develop new products and services while engaging their customers in a meaningful way. By allowing customers to have a direct input in the product development process, companies can ensure that the end result meets their exact needs and preferences.

The concept of co-creation has been around for some time, but it has become increasingly important in recent years as companies recognize the need to stay ahead of the competition and provide customers with the best possible experience. By leveraging co-creation, companies can ensure that their products and services are tailored precisely to their customers’ needs, rather than guessing what those needs may be.

One of the most common forms of co-creation is crowdsourcing, which allows companies to solicit ideas from a large group of people. This can be done through online platforms that allow customers to submit their ideas, or by engaging customers directly in the design process. This process can take place in a variety of ways, such as online surveys or workshops, allowing customers to provide direct input into the product or service they’re looking for.

Using co-creation can also help companies to increase customer loyalty. By giving customers a direct say in the design process, companies can create a sense of ownership, and customers may feel more invested in the product or service they’ve helped create. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, as customers may be more likely to purchase the product or service and recommend it to others.

Finally, co-creation can help companies to gain valuable insights into customer preferences and trends. By engaging customers directly in the design process, companies can gain an intimate understanding of what customers want and need, which can be invaluable when it comes to developing new products and services.

In short, co-creation is a powerful tool in the innovation process that allows companies to stay ahead of the competition and ensure their products and services are tailored precisely to customer needs. By leveraging co-creation, companies can open up a dialogue with customers, increase customer loyalty, and gain valuable insights into customer trends. All of these benefits make co-creation an essential part of the innovation process.

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Harnessing the Power of Diversity

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How to Leverage Different Perspectives in Innovation

Harnessing the Power of Diversity

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

Innovation is essential for any organization to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing business landscape. Companies need to learn how to empower their teams to come up with creative solutions to challenging problems in order to remain ahead of the curve. Harnessing the power of diversity is a proven way to spur innovation and drive positive outcomes. A diverse team offers multiple perspectives, enabling them to develop creative, out-of-the-box solutions.

Organizations should be committed to creating an inclusive work culture that promotes collaboration and innovation amongst its employees. They can do this by establishing strong values for diversity and inclusion that encourage different opinions and ideas. Companies should also encourage employees to share their own knowledge and experiences; creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to leverage different perspectives within your organization to drive innovation:

1. Encourage diverse teams: When forming teams and project groups, aim to have a diverse team of individuals who can bring different skills and perspectives to the table. Having a variety of views will foster more creative solutions and lead to better problem solving.

2. Foster an environment of open dialogue: Allowing people to openly discuss their ideas and experiences encourages idea-sharing amongst team members. Create a safe environment where everyone is open and willing to express their ideas and point of view.

3. Promote flexible working arrangements: Allowing for flexible working arrangements enables individuals to work remotely or in different locations, thus leveraging different perspectives. Making sure that everyone can stay connected and access all the resources they need is essential for collaboration and innovation.

4. Leverage technology and tools: Organizations can use technology to promote collaboration and idea-sharing across different locations. Utilizing tools such as video conferencing, online collaboration software, and cloud-based communication platforms will enable team members to exchange ideas effectively and stay connected.

In conclusion, diversity is a powerful source of creativity and innovation. Harnessing the power of different perspectives can lead to improved problem solving and productive solutions. By promoting an inclusive and collaborative work culture, organizations can best leverage different perspectives to spur innovation and drive positive outcomes.

Case Study 1 – Proctor & Gamble

Proctor & Gamble showed the power of leveraging different perspectives when launching their Swiffer mop product. In order to best assess the potential for Swiffer’s success, P&G assembled an R&D team made up of both men and women with varied experience in both household chore and chemical engineering. The team was able to identify potential issues with the product’s use within households and developed creative solutions, ensuring the success of the product in the market.

Case Study 2 – Microsoft

Microsoft showed the power of embracing different perspectives when developing their Kinect game console. Microsoft brought together a diverse team of engineers, designers, and software developers from a variety of cultural, educational, and technical backgrounds, and tasked them with the challenge of developing the console. The team was able to identify opportunities and potential pitfalls of the product, leading to the successful launch of Kinect.

Conclusion

Both of these examples demonstrate how organizations can effectively leverage different perspectives to develop innovative solutions and spur growth. By encouraging open dialogue, embracing flexible working arrangements, and leveraging technology and tools, organizations can best leverage the power of diversity and reap positive outcomes.

One of the great tools I haven’t mentioned that is very useful for increasing the effectiveness of innovation teams is The Nine Innovation Roles created by Braden Kelley, which has been translated into multiple languages and are used by innovation professionals in companies all around the world.

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Going Beyond the Business Model Canvas

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Going Beyond the Business Model Canvas

For decades when business people and aspiring entrepreneurs came up with an idea and became serious about commercializing it, they would, by default, create a business plan. Anyone who has ever created a business plan knows they are a LOT of work. And as any innovator knows, most ideas turn out to be garbage. As a result, the creation of most business plans ends up being a waste of time.

All of this wasted time and money in the universes of both corporate innovation and startups was definitely an area of opportunity.

This pain has been solved in part by the Business Model Canvas created by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, the Lean Canvas created by Ash Maurya, and by minor variations created by others.

Purpose of the Business Model Canvas

The purpose of both at their core is the same. The Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas seek to help entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and innovators quickly explore the desirability, feasibility and viability of their ideas in a more visual and collaborative way, while also supporting much quicker iterations and revisions to both the value proposition and its path to market.

Where a business plan may take weeks to create, a Business Model Canvas or Lean Canvas can be created in an afternoon.

Where a business plan is often created by one person and revised by others in a serial manner, a Business Model Canvas or Lean Canvas is a group activity, informed by a collection of diverse perspectives and experiences, and challenged, evolved and revised in a real-time, parallel manner.

What excites me most as someone who conducts workshops all around the world and teaches people how to use the Business Model Canvas and other innovation & change tools, is that the Business Model Canvas and Lean Canvas have helped to accelerate a transformation in not only how people are taught, but also how they are permitted to conduct business.

Creating a Business Model Canvas as a Team

The Visual and Collaborative Workplace Transformation

This transformation is a game changer because it represents a growing integration of methods into workshops and meetings that enable facilitators to engage not only auditory learners, but visual, kinesthetic and social learners as well.

This more human approach to prototyping a business helps to add a bit more structure around an idea, in a collaborative way that will more quickly surface gaps and flaws while also testing assumptions, collecting idea fragments into a more holistic value proposition and creating a vision for how to make it real.

But, as we all know, any new business or any potential innovation will create an abundance of required and necessary changes. Unfortunately, whether you are using the Business Model Canvas or the Lean Canvas, the truth and the limitation is that they are but a single tool and can’t help you walk the rest of the path to reality. To create the changes necessary to realize your vision, you will need many more tools.

“When what people do aligns with what they think and feel, then and only then, will you achieve the outcomes you’re looking for.”

The good news is that this more visual and collaborative way of working helps with two of the most important keys to success – buy-in and alignment – and also helps to align mind, body, and spirit to harness the whole brain and its three constructs:

Cognitive (thinking)
Conative (doing)
Affective (feeling)

Outcome-Driven Change Framework by Braden Kelley

Beyond the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas

Visual, collaborative tools like the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, Empathy Map, Value Proposition Canvas, Experience Maps, Service Design, and even Customer Journey Maps have laid the groundwork for a more modern, more powerful way of working that leverages the whole brain of the individual, and all three learning styles of the collective.

And where these tools all represent the beginning of a visual, collaborative endeavor to create change, they are missing the tools to help plan for and execute the changes that are being proposed.

Making the Shift to Human-Centered Change

This is where the Change Planning Toolkit™ powering the Human-Centered Change methodology comes in. It has been designed with the Change Planning Canvas™ at its core to feel familiar to those already using the aforementioned tools and empower teams to take the next steps on their journey to be successful:

Innovation and Intrapreneurship
Startup Creation
Digital Transformation
Design Thinking
New Product Development (NPD)
Service Design
Experience Design
Customer Experience (CX) Improvement Efforts
Projects (make sure you also get the Visual Project Charter™)
Change Initiatives

So, if you’re already familiar with the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, Empathy Map, Value Proposition Canvas, Experience Maps, Service Design, or Customer Journey Maps then you should get a copy of my latest book Charting Change and it will show you the thinking behind the Change Planning Toolkit™, how to use it to maintain the momentum of your team and the energy behind your idea, and how to leverage both to push it forward towards reality.

The Change Planning Toolkit™ will help you beat the 70% change failure rate, create more efficient and effective change initiatives (and even projects), and accelerate your pace of successful change in order to keep up with the accelerating pace of change all around us and to be more nimble, agile, and responsive than your competition.

Three Steps to Human-Centered Change Success

There is a simple three step process for people who want to start saving time and get the jump on their competition today by familiarizing themselves with the Human-Centered Change methodology:

10 free tools available to download now
26 free tools when you buy the book
70+ tools when you license the toolkit

I’ve invested more than $1 million into the Change Planning Toolkit™ so you don’t have to, and so you can leverage this investment to gain all of the benefits above while also saving yourself thousands or millions of dollars in consulting fees – every year.

And for a limited time, there are some exciting FREE training opportunities available to a handful of organizations who contact me.

Accelerate your change and transformation success

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What is in a Project Charter?

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What is in a Project Charter?

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

A project charter is an essential document used to define a project and ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page. It outlines the project’s purpose, goals, timelines, resources, and responsibilities, and serves as the foundation for successful project execution.

The most important element of a project charter is the scope. This section defines the scope of the project in terms of what will be done, the objectives to be achieved, and the deliverables expected. It also identifies any constraints or limitations that may affect the project.

The project charter also outlines the timeline and milestones for the project. This section lays out the start and end dates, as well as any major milestones, such as the completion of certain tasks or the delivery of specific deliverables.

The project charter also includes the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders. This section outlines who is responsible for what, and who has authority over which decisions. It also defines the communication process between the stakeholders and outlines the decision-making process.

The resources section of the project charter lists the resources required to complete the project, such as personnel, materials, and equipment. It also outlines the budget for the project, including any costs associated with the resources.

Finally, the project charter includes the risks and assumptions associated with the project. This section identifies potential risks, such as changes in scope, resource constraints, or political changes, and outlines how they will be addressed. It also outlines any assumptions made during the project planning process.

A project charter is an important document that helps ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page and that the project is properly defined and managed. It outlines the scope, timeline, roles and responsibilities, resources, and risks and assumptions associated with the project, and serves as the foundation for successful project execution.

SPECIAL BONUS: You can get your very own copy of the Visual Project Charter™ for FREE for use as 35″x56″ giant poster or as a background to use in Miro, Mural, Lucidspark, Microsoft Whiteboard, Google Jamboard, etc. The Visual Project Charter™ was
created by Braden Kelley to help project managers set up their projects for greater success by beginning their project management efforts in a more visual, collaborative way.

The Visual Project Charter™ helps organizations:

Move beyond the Microsoft Word document
Make the creation of Project Charters more fun!
Kickoff projects in a more collaborative, more visual way
Structure dialogue to capture the project overview, project scope, project conditions and project approach

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Scaling Design Thinking in the Enterprise

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From Workshops to Widespread Impact

LAST UPDATED: November 23, 2025 at 12:01PM

Scaling Design Thinking in the Enterprise

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

Design Thinking has become the lingua franca of modern innovation. Millions of employees globally have attended multi-day workshops, enthusiastically sticky-noted their way through empathy maps, and built rudimentary prototypes. However, for most large organizations, the enthusiasm generated in the workshop vanishes the moment employees return to their desks, colliding with entrenched silos, risk-averse processes, and a lack of executive sponsorship. The result is a common disappointment: brilliant workshops, minimal widespread impact.

The failure isn’t with Design Thinking itself; it’s with the Change Management Strategy used to scale it. We’ve treated it as a training problem when it is fundamentally a cultural and structural one. True competitive advantage comes not from having a few Design Thinking experts, but from embedding a Human-Centered Mindset into every department, from Finance to Operations, making it a routine part of daily decision-making.

Scaling Design Thinking requires a deliberate shift from the isolated “Workshop Model” to an integrated Enterprise Capability Model. It moves the focus from facilitating a methodology to engineering a culture that automatically prioritizes empathy, rapid iteration, and co-creation across all functions.

The Three Barriers to Scaling Design Thinking

Before scaling, leaders must dismantle the internal barriers that cause Design Thinking efforts to stall:

The “Innovation Theater” Trap: Treating Design Thinking as a visible, feel-good event (the workshop) rather than a rigorous, measurable business practice. This leads to team burnout when the fun activities don’t translate to real P&L impact.
The Skill Silo: Confining the practice to specific units (e.g., the Innovation Lab or UX team). When Design Thinking is seen as “someone else’s job,” functional areas like HR, Legal, or IT revert to old, process-first mindsets, resisting human-centered solutions.
The Hand-Off Hurdle: The most critical failure point is the transition from the Design Thinking team’s validated prototype (the idea) to the Operations team’s execution (the build). Without shared language and metrics, the hand-off is often rejected due to cultural dissonance as “too risky” or “not scalable.”

The Three Steps to Achieving Enterprise Capability

To move beyond these barriers, human-centered change leaders must implement a phased approach focusing on structural and cultural enablement:

1. Establish the Center of Gravity (The Design Guild)

Create a small, cross-functional internal community of practice, often called a Design Guild or Innovation Coaches Network. This group’s mission is not to run all the workshops, but to train, coach, and govern the practice across the enterprise. They codify the methodology, create standard, context-specific tools, and ensure consistency. Crucially, they serve as internal consultants, helping functional leaders translate a vague business challenge into a structured Design Thinking project that matters to their unit.

2. Integrate into Decision Metrics (Operationalizing Empathy)

The methodology must be linked directly to how the company measures and rewards behavior. This involves two actions:

First, mandate that Stage Gate Reviews for all major product, process, or system changes must include verifiable evidence of user empathy (e.g., ethnographic field notes, validated low-fidelity prototypes with customer feedback loops). Second, tie incentive and bonus programs for mid-level managers to demonstrating behavioral commitment to the methodology (e.g., actively allocating time for customer interviews, funding small-scale rapid prototyping). This ensures Design Thinking is a required part of the Process of Innovation, not just an optional tool.

3. Embed into Functional DNA (The T-Shaped Workforce)

This is the final, essential step: making Design Thinking part of every function’s core competency. Design Thinking shouldn’t be a separate skill but the horizontal bar of a T-Shaped Professional. For example, a Finance analyst should be trained not just in spreadsheets, but in how to apply Design Thinking to simplify employee expense reports. An HR leader should use Design Thinking to map the employee experience when on-boarding. This widespread application transforms the methodology from an innovation tool into a Operational Improvement Framework.

Case Study 1: The Global Manufacturer and the Core Capability

Challenge: Inconsistent Product Quality and Adoption Across Regions

A global manufacturer faced a problem common to large, successful firms: R&D invented great products, but regional operations adapted or rejected them, leading to inconsistent quality and slow market adoption. The issue wasn’t the product; it was a lack of shared empathy for the regional user’s context and constraints.

Scaling Design Thinking Intervention:

The manufacturer strategically abandoned the corporate-led workshop model and created a decentralized Design Mastery Program. Instead of bringing hundreds of employees to HQ, they identified one or two high-potential leaders in 20 different regions and certified them as Design Coaches (Step 1). These coaches were then required to dedicate 25% of their time to running local, problem-specific Design Sprints focused on regional adoption challenges (e.g., “Why is Product X adoption 40% lower in Asia than Europe?”).

Key Benefits and Characteristics:

Decentralized Ownership: Ownership shifted from a central lab to local operational leaders, integrating the methodology into the regional P&L (Step 3).
Metrics Integration: Success was measured by the regional reduction in operational friction (fewer reworks, faster local adaptation time) resulting from the Design Sprints (Step 2).
The Human-Centered Lesson: By making the coaches accountable to their regional P&L and focusing the sprints on operational pain points, Design Thinking quickly became indispensable, transforming from a “nice-to-have” training to a core operational capability driving tangible efficiency gains and better user adoption.

Case Study 2: The Healthcare Insurer and the Back Office

Challenge: Employee Churn and Administrative Cost in Claims Processing

A large healthcare insurer suffered from extremely high employee turnover in its claims processing centers, which drove high costs and error rates. Management assumed the problem was pay or management style, but the root cause was systemic complexity (the “internal user experience”). Design Thinking was initially only used on customer-facing digital tools.

Scaling Design Thinking Intervention:

The insurer created a dedicated Process Innovation Team led by internal Design Thinking coaches (Step 1). Their mandate was to apply the Design Thinking methodology not to the customer, but to the employee journey (the internal user). Teams from Legal, Compliance, and IT were forced to sit with claims processors and literally map their daily tasks, focusing on points of frustration (the internal user’s empathy map).

Key Benefits and Characteristics:

Horizontal Application: The methodology was applied horizontally across traditionally siloed functions (HR, IT, Legal), forcing them to co-create solutions focused on the processor’s experience (Step 3).
Metric Shift: The success metric was shifted from “Claims Processed per Hour” to “Reduction in Processor Frustration Score (PFS),” derived from employee feedback post-sprint (Step 2).
The Human-Centered Lesson: By applying the empathy phase to internal employees, the teams discovered complex legacy system hurdles that wasted 40% of the processors’ time. The solutions co-created by the teams led to a 35% reduction in employee churn in those centers within a year, demonstrating the massive ROI of applying Design Thinking to the internal user experience. Design Thinking became synonymous with operational excellence, not just product innovation.

The Human-Centered Call to Action

Design Thinking is too powerful to be confined to a single team or a one-off event. It is the necessary framework for continuous, human-centered change. To achieve widespread impact, leaders must recognize that they are not buying a training session; they are engineering a culture of pervasive empathy and experimentation.

The scaling challenge is not a logistical one, but a leadership one. Are you ready to shift resources and rewards to make this methodology a non-negotiable part of how every function, from the front line to the back office, makes decisions?

“If Design Thinking is isolated to the innovation lab, your company is only doing innovation theater. True innovation happens when empathy becomes a non-negotiable pursuit for the whole enterprise.” — Braden Kelley

Frequently Asked Questions About Scaling Design Thinking

1. What is the biggest mistake organizations make when trying to scale Design Thinking?

The biggest mistake is treating Design Thinking as purely a training problem (the “Workshop Model”) rather than a cultural and structural change management challenge. This leads to isolated enthusiasm that quickly fades when confronted with risk-averse processes and a lack of accountability in daily work.

2. What is the role of the “Design Guild” in scaling the methodology?

The Design Guild serves as the internal center of gravity. Its role is not to run every workshop, but to standardize the methodology, certify and coach internal practitioners across functions, and govern the quality of the practice, ensuring consistency and integration into strategic projects enterprise-wide.

3. How do you measure the impact of Design Thinking beyond product innovation?

Impact must be measured using operational metrics tied to the specific problem being solved. For back-office functions, this can include metrics like “Reduction in Employee Frustration Score,” “Decrease in Process Cycle Time,” “Reduction in Rework,” or “Time Saved on Cross-Functional Handoffs.” The key is measuring the reduction of friction for the user, whether internal or external.

Your first step toward scaling Design Thinking: Identify a high-impact, non-product challenge in a back-office function (e.g., HR on-boarding, finance expense reporting, legal compliance documentation). Partner with the leader of that function and commit to running one small, highly focused Design Sprint to address the internal user experience of that process. Focus the success metric on reducing internal employee friction, not saving cost. Use this success story to model Design Thinking as a powerful operational tool, not just an innovation toy.

Extra Extra: Because innovation is all about change, Braden Kelley’s human-centered change methodology and tools are the best way to plan and execute the changes necessary to support your innovation and transformation efforts — all while literally getting everyone all on the same page for change. Find out more about the methodology and tools, including the book Charting Change by following the link. Be sure and download the TEN FREE TOOLS while you’re here.

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The Venture Client Model

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Bringing the Outside In for Internal Disruption

LAST UPDATED: November 13, 2025 at 1:23PM
The Venture Client Model

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

For decades, large corporations have wrestled with a critical innovation problem: how to access the speed and agility of the startup ecosystem without choking it with bureaucracy or overpaying through premature acquisition. Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) offered a financial window, but often failed to translate investment into operational change. The solution is not more capital; it’s a new engagement model built on a human-centered relationship: the Venture Client Model.

The Venture Client Model transforms the relationship between the corporation and the startup. Instead of acting as a passive investor, the large company acts as a first, paying client — a crucial lighthouse customer. The startup receives a contract (not just equity) and the opportunity to pilot its technology within a real, complex industrial environment. The corporation, in turn, gains early, de-risked access to disruptive solutions and the ability to test future technologies for internal applications.

This model is inherently human-centered because it focuses on solving real, internal pain points with external ingenuity, forcing a necessary friction between established internal process and external disruptive speed. It moves innovation from the periphery of financial investment directly into the core of operational value creation, where change truly impacts the customer and the bottom line.

The Three Pillars of the Venture Client Advantage

The success of the Venture Client Model hinges on its unique structure, which addresses the primary failures of traditional internal R&D and CVC:

1. De-Risked Operational Access (The Speed Multiplier)

Traditional procurement processes are an innovation killer. They are designed for stability, not speed. The Venture Client Unit (VCU) operates with its own streamlined legal and commercial framework, allowing for the rapid deployment of proof-of-concept projects. This structure allows a startup solution to enter the corporate environment in weeks, not months, dramatically accelerating the time-to-value.

2. Focused Pain Point Sourcing (The Value Anchor)

Unlike traditional CVC, which often chases market hype, the VCU starts by rigorously identifying the top five systemic pain points within the parent organization (e.g., slow supply chain traceability, high energy consumption in a factory). They then source startups specifically to solve those problems. This ensures that every pilot project is anchored to an immediate, quantifiable operational return, overcoming internal resistance by delivering proven, tangible value right away.

3. Internal Cultural Catalyst (The Mindset Shift)

The most profound impact of the Venture Client Model is internal. When a lean, external solution fixes a multi-million-dollar internal process in six weeks, it creates a powerful cultural catalyst. It shows internal teams what is possible outside the traditional, risk-averse framework, directly increasing the Adaptability Quotient (AQ) of the workforce. It changes the mindset from “we can’t do that” to “who outside can help us do this?”

Case Study 1: The Automotive OEM and Process Optimization

Challenge: Inefficient Factory Floor Logistics

A major European automotive manufacturer was suffering from production bottlenecks due to outdated manual logistics tracking on its assembly lines. Traditional internal R&D struggled to find a quick, cost-effective solution that could integrate with decades-old legacy systems. The internal solution required a full-scale IT overhaul, demanding years and hundreds of millions.

Venture Client Intervention:

The manufacturer’s VCU identified a small startup specializing in computer vision-based inventory tracking. Within a specialized procurement sandbox, the VCU ran a three-month pilot. The startup’s off-the-shelf software was integrated with existing CCTV infrastructure to track component flow automatically. The result was a 15% reduction in assembly-line bottlenecks and an immediate, visible ROI. The manufacturer then scaled the solution across five factories within the next year.

The Human-Centered Lesson:

The success was not just technological; it was methodological. The Venture Client process forced internal operations teams to collaborate with a nimble external party on a real, immediate problem, breaking down “Not Invented Here” bias and proving the viability of external solutions.

The Crucial Distinction: Client vs. Investor

The Venture Client is fundamentally different from Corporate Venture Capital (CVC). CVC focuses on a financial return in 5-7 years, often funding startups outside the corporation’s direct operational sphere. The Venture Client focuses on an operational return in 6-12 months. The contract is for a product or service (not equity), though VCU often has an option for future equity if the pilot is successful. This immediate operational focus ensures that the initiative remains aligned with core business needs, securing necessary internal sponsorship.

Case Study 2: The Infrastructure Firm and Predictive Maintenance

Challenge: Reactive Maintenance in Remote Infrastructure

A global energy infrastructure firm maintained thousands of remote assets (pipelines, wind farms) and relied on scheduled or reactive maintenance, leading to costly downtime and emergency fixes. The internal data science team was too small and too focused on existing predictive models to develop a radically new solution.

Venture Client Intervention:

The VCU scouted a specialized startup utilizing acoustic sensing and advanced machine learning to detect micro-leaks and component wear in real-time, long before traditional vibration sensors flagged an issue. The firm acted as the first commercial client, providing the startup with critical, large-scale training data from their assets. The pilot demonstrated an increase in lead time for critical fixes by three weeks. The firm then moved from a pilot contract to a large-scale, multi-year vendor contract, securing a strategic advantage in predictive asset management.

The Human-Centered Lesson:

This highlights the mutual value exchange. The corporation gained a strategic, proprietary solution and validated a technology stream. The startup gained a massive, credible reference customer and the data necessary to rapidly mature its AI model. It’s a win-win built on the human-centered need for speed (startup) and stability (corporation).

Conclusion: Scaling External Ingenuity

The Venture Client Model is the ultimate tool for scaling external ingenuity for internal disruption. It turns the largest corporate asset — its scale, its budget, and its pain points — into a magnet for innovation. By establishing a dedicated, de-risked commercial channel, corporations can access game-changing technologies on their own terms, transforming innovation from a high-stakes financial bet into a continuous portfolio of strategic pilots that accelerate organizational learning.

“Stop waiting for the big acquisition to disrupt your business. Start paying the right startups to solve your most urgent problems today. That is the Venture Client Model.” — Braden Kelley

Your first step toward building a Venture Client capability: Identify the single biggest operational bottleneck in your organization that costs over $5 million annually, and commit to finding an external startup solution to pilot it within 90 days.

Image credit: Pexels

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Every Company Needs an Innovation Coach

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Retained Innovation Innovation is not a solo activity. While the rare lone genius may be able to invent something on their own (although still always inspired by others), nobody can innovate by themselves. Innovation, by its very nature, requires collaboration.

Companies are like brains. The brain is composed of two hemispheres. The left brain is typically described as the home to math and logic skills, while the right brain is described as the domain of creativity. Of course people need to develop both hemispheres to be successful, and companies are the same. Achieving operational excellence is the goal of the left brain side of the organization and innovation excellence should be the goal of the right side of the organization. Unfortunately, most organizations over-invest in operational excellence to the point that the organization fights off innovation excellence efforts like a virus.

So, what’s the cure?

Not to get sick in the first place of course!

To achieve that, consider putting an innovation wellness program in place. And what does that look like?

An innovation wellness program has at its center, an organization that is willing to reach outside its four walls for a constant stream of new inspiration. Because it is inspiration in combination with curiosity that will give the organization a fighting chance of identifying ongoing sources of unique and differentiated insights that will allow the organization to continuously reinvent itself and stay in resonance with its customers.

A couple tangible examples of innovation wellness program components include:

Embedding elements of so-called Open Innovation into the core of the organization’s innovation approach rather than existing as a periodic guest

Continuous reinforcement of a curiosity culture

Employment of a part-time innovation coach on an ongoing basis

Robert F Brands What does an innovation coach look like?

Well, one good example was the late Robert F. Brands, who was lost to the global innovation community far too soon. He was a friend, a colleague, a mentor, a partner on work we did for the United States Navy, and he helped me get the book deal for my first five-star book – Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire.

A good innovation coach helps you avoid the ten signs of innovation sickness:

Nobody can articulate your definition of innovation (or you don’t have one)
Nobody can articulate your innovation vision/strategy/goals (or you don’t have them)
People struggle to tell the story of one or more innovations launched to wide adoption by the organization
Most of what passes as innovation inside the organization would actually be classified as improvements (not innovation) by people outside the organization
The organization no longer makes external innovation perspectives available to a wide audience
Nobody takes the time to participate in our innovation efforts anymore
Your organization is unable to accept insights and ideas from outside the organization and develop them into concepts that can be scaled to wide adoption
Innovation program leadership has difficulty getting time on the CEO’s calendar any more
Your innovation team is trying to do all of the innovating instead of helping to accelerate the innovation efforts of others
Your pace of innovation is slower than the organizations you compete with for market share, donations, votes, etc.

A good innovation coach can help you:

1. Perform an innovation assessment

I developed a 50 question innovation audit and made it available in support of my first book Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, so that people can do a self-evaluation of their innovation maturity here on my web site. Or if you would like to dig a little deeper into the dynamics of innovation in your organization, I can work with you to do an innovation diagnostic across your organization and/or help you establish a baseline so you can track your innovation maturity progress over time.

2. Establish a Continuous Innovation Infrastructure

Many companies confuse having a New Product Development (NPD) program or a Research & Development (R&D) program with having an innovation program, or are stuck in an ‘innovation as a project’ approach to innovation. A good innovation coach can help you define what innovation can and should mean to your organization, build a common language of innovation, create an innovation vision, establish an innovation strategy that dovetails with your organization’s overall strategy, and develop innovation goals that will help focus the organization’s efforts to realize its innovation vision and strategy.

3. Teach You Some New Innovation Tools, Methods, and Frameworks

A good innovation coach is also a skilled facilitator and can help facilitate innovation off-sites, an effective trainer who can develop the custom courses you need to teach people in the organization new tools, methods, or frameworks to improve or accelerate your innovation capabilities, and is capable of delivering inspirational keynotes to large groups inside your organization to help shift mindsets and help people feel empowered to participate in the innovation efforts of the organization. The best innovation coaches are capable not just of bringing in the tools, methods and frameworks of others, but are also capable of understanding your innovation gaps and creating new innovation tools, methods and frameworks to help you.

4. Help You Identify Insights and Opportunities

Innovation begins with inspiration, and your curiosity and exploration should lead you to identify some good insights to build on and opportunities to pursue. But, because most ideas are really idea fragments, sometimes an innovation coach or other external perspectives can help you identify the gaps in your idea fragment or opportunity identification that might make them more compelling, especially if you aren’t making a conscious use of The Nine Innovation Roles as part of your innovation process to help you avoid innovation blind spots. A good innovation coach can also help you go beyond ideas and help you focus on not just one, but all three keys to innovation success:

Value Creation
Value Access
Value Translation

Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire will help you learn more about each, or you can check out my previous article ‘Innovation is All About Value‘.

5. Tell You Honestly When You’re Going Off Course

A good innovation coach will have the courage to be honest with you and tell you when you’ve lost your way. Over time, many innovation teams tend to come down with shiny object syndrome or its equally evil cousin, launch fever. A competent innovation coach will be able to recognize the change and help you course correct before you pass the point of no return, and put the very existence of your innovation program at risk. A good innovation coach is able to provide a consistent external perspective, a sanity check, and may be able to also help you build external connections to invite in other external perspectives as well.

Wrapping it Up

It is easy to fall in love with the innovation process and program you’ve created. It is equally simple to form attachments to your innovation projects and artifacts and think that you’ve cracked the code, and maybe you have, but wouldn’t you like to keep one toe in the pond outside your organization just to make sure?

Creating and maintaining a part-time relationship with an innovation coach you trust is a great way to do that. Smart organizations keep a pulse on their level of innovation maturity over time. They’re continuously evolving their innovation infrastructure, building new capabilities, and seeking out external perspectives as a sanity check on their program evolutions over time. So what are you waiting for?