There are a hundred ways to grow your business and a thousand roads to get there. But what if you’re “just” in middle management at a large corporation? How do you start innovative practices, from the ground up?

“I work as a sales team leader in a corporate organization that needs to transform. I know firsthand the pain points and challenges that our industrial customers have. What can I do to start innovation from the bottom up?”

This very question was asked during the recent webinar “The Blueprint: Building Your Company’s Future of Innovation and Growth”, hosted by EVP at Mach49 Dave Blakely, leader of our Growth Institute. Dave moderated a session that included C-suite veteran Beverly Rider, Dror Sharon, Entrepreneur in Residence at Intel and Huggy Rao, author and Atholl McBean Professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. 

It was a great question. Especially when you work in a traditional part of the business, attempting to get growth initiatives off the ground can be next to impossible. Here’s what this experienced panel could tell this team leader: 

Entrepreneur in Residence Dror Sharon suggested thinking BIG. ‘From my experience supporting intrapreneurs and helping people think through ways to frame their innovation in multiple organizations, what are you so excited about? How can you frame this in terms of the impact to your organization – whether it's cost savings, extra revenue, or new lines of business? You need to frame your business idea so it makes sense to someone that is responsible for at least a billion dollars. In large companies, to move the needle, you really need to find a pot of gold, or kill the idea. If you’ve really found a new niche, I would start the presentation with, here is the next "Here is the next $10 billion in revenue for our company."  I can guarantee that any memo that starts that way is going to make it to somebody that has the budget to fund that innovation.’ 

Dave Blakely reminded the questioner that attention is the scarcest resource in today’s business environment. Ground-up initiatives will only get traction if the message is crafted in a way that is relevant to leadership. ‘You need to demonstrate that you are solving a widespread and acute problem in a way that could lead to significant financial benefits. Show your leadership that you understand the risks in your new venture and have a plan to mitigate each one with a combination of research, analysis and iterative testing.’ 

Huggy Rao suggested understanding the principles of the people you’re trying to convince, and applying them to your advantage. ‘Decision makers typically oversample vivid and recent information. So, one place to begin is starting a meeting with a vivid story about customer pain. Everybody can easily understand the story and it opens people up. You're not pushing a message, you’re helping them listen to a customer and reach their own conclusions.’ 

In the end, showcasing what’s happening outside the office will shift exposure and mindsets in a business. Use storytelling and immersive experiences to spotlight flaws and opportunities. This can spark the conversation, debate, and desire to explore new paths, even in slow-moving industries. Of course, these ground-up efforts may not always get immediate approval. But the panel agreed that, by consistently highlighting customer needs, you can slowly sway viewpoints and strategy. 

The key is patience and presenting disruptive growth in terms of the value at risk — like that next $10 billion in revenue.

Want to learn more about what the Mach49 Growth Institute can do for your business? Visit the Growth Institute webpage or view the full webinar.