Image: Artery8 Celestial Navigation Hilma af Klint Style Abstract Oil Painting

For innovation leaders, the challenge isn’t just building the “next big thing”—it’s convincing the rest of the world (and your own board) that the shift is necessary.

As you push into new territories, and especially AI, your brand evolution can’t just be a press release. It needs a narrative. If you don’t provide the “why” behind the pivot, your audience will fill that silence with their own assumptions. And your team will flail.

How to Narrative-Proof Your Evolution:

  • Share the “Why Now”: Innovation is a response to a changing world. Look at Slack. They started as a gaming company that failed, but they realized their internal communication tool was the real innovation. By narrating the pivot from “gaming” to “the digital HQ,” they made the shift feel like an inevitable evolution of work, not a desperate change of plans.
  • Legacy as a Launchpad, Not an Anchor: Use storytelling to bridge the past and future. Fujifilm is a masterclass here. While others stood still, Fujifilm used their expertise in collagen and oxidation (from film) to pivot into high-end skincare and pharmaceuticals. They told a story of “preserving beauty” that linked 80 years of film history to the future of healthcare.
  • Validate via the “Early Adopters”: Highlight the users thriving in your new direction. Canva is currently nailing this as they pivot from a B2C “fun tool for creators” to a B2B “Workverse” powerhouse. By highlighting how entire marketing departments—not just solo hobbyists—use the platform to scale, they are rewriting the narrative from “easy-to-use” to “enterprise-essential.”
  • Co-Create the Roadmap: Don’t just unveil; involve. Leaders who share their “Beta” phases and invite feedback create a sense of ownership among stakeholders. LEGO does this brilliantly through “LEGO Ideas,” where fans submit designs. It turns the evolution of their product line into a shared journey with their most loyal innovators.

Transformation is hard. Do not go into the future without a story that the rest of the team [and the market] can follow. Keep pushing the boundaries—just remember to leave a breadcrumb trail for the rest of us.

Cheers to the next chapter!