Early this year, I was interviewed for a podcast.
The host asked, “Let’s say you’re building up a base of early adopters. How do you know when you’ve found your people?”
Here’s what I know.
Every time you share your innovation with someone and see the dawning realization on their face that makes them say, “Wow, I didn’t know that was possible”, you’ve found your people.
Every time someone generously volunteers feedback to make your idea even better, you’ve found your people.
Every time someone becomes invested enough in that idea that they can’t help but share it with others, you’ve found your people.
And when someone says, “This is amazing, but you’ll never get it past the higher-ups, unless you communicate X, Y, and Z”, you’ve found the most valuable people.
So, it follows that the story you share in the beginning is crafted for those early adopters and positions them as the main characters. You tell the story of how their lives have been until today, and how their lives could be tomorrow. You don’t ask them to change; you craft the story to explain how you’ll serve their needs better.
These are the people you need to make your innovative ideas spread.
This are the people you need to increase the speed at which your breakthrough ideas race through an organization.
At Innovation Storytellers, we specialize in helping you tell better stories that will diffuse your ideas quicker, and with less friction.
If you’re interested in learning more, send me an email and let me know.
In the meantime, read on for this week’s best articles on innovation, and a brand new podcast episode with Joanna Frank, President & CEO at the Center for Active Design, about how your zip code, your office building and your home, could be affecting your well-being even more than your genetic code.
-Susan.
This Week’s Best Articles on Innovation
Can Design Thinking Succeed in Your Organization? – MIT Sloan Management Review
Can Innovation In Primary Care Slay the Healthcare Leviathan? – FORBES
Innovation Should Stretch From Top Floor to Shop Floor – Industry Week
Preventing the Decay of Knowledge – Sustaining Change
Remote Startups Will Win The War For Talent – Future
