Three Practical Steps to Gain Business Buy-In for Innovation

The biggest hurdle for every innovation leader is getting the buy-in from the business to invest in their initiatives. Fighting for more resources to fund the programs you want to build can be very frustrating, often leading to unnecessary tension between innovation teams and the business side.

However, this situation isn't set in stone. I will outline below a simple approach that can transform innovation from a liability (cost-center) to a valuable asset(demonstrating tangible ROI).

Let's make this practical.

The solution I'm about to share is effective regardless of your team's size or maturity —whether you're flying solo in innovation or part of a larger, well-established department.

Align to business goals

The onus is on you to understand the business objectives, not the other way around. Take the time to learn what the business aims to achieve and clearly articulate how your innovation efforts will support these goals.

At Design Sprint Academy, we've created a goal-setting workshop tailored for this purpose. We're offering it to any innovation team willing to provide us feedback (indeed, we're practicing what we preach). Access it here.

Show, don’t tell.

Talk is cheap. Instead of convincing stakeholders, show them tangible proof of success. Demonstrate value with proofs of concept that customers are excited about.

Here, the design sprint shines. It's customer-focused, efficient, and fast —delivering tangible results in less than a week. Its flexibility means it's applicable to virtually any challenge, from digital products to internal processes, services, digital transformation, AI adoption, or customer experience improvements.

Small wins

Instead of a big bang breakthrough in a distant future, aim for ongoing small wins . That will build momentum and trust, paving the way for larger innovations down the line.

One of the teams we work with planned 15 design sprints for 2024. So, every month, the business sees at least one tangible prototype and hears customer feedback.

Reflect on your discussions with stakeholders. How many revolved around an actual solution to a real problem, supported by genuine customer feedback, looking at real data from testing as concrete evidence of success?

Trust me, it fundamentally changes the conversation.

In summary:

1. Involve your stakeholders in a 2-hour goal-setting workshop.

2. Use design sprints to prototype and test solutions to problems they care about.

3. Cadence is key. Strive for one prototype each month.

P.S. When you're ready, here's how we can help: