How do you overcome skepticism when introducing a new innovation model?

Introducing a new innovation model can be challenging, especially if you face resistance or skepticism from your stakeholders, customers, or team members. How can you overcome these barriers and convince them of the value and potential of your new approach? Here are some tips to help you communicate, demonstrate, and validate your innovation model effectively.

1 Understand the source of skepticism

The first step to overcome skepticism is to understand where it comes from. Different people may have different reasons to doubt or question your innovation model, such as fear of change, lack of trust, uncertainty, or inertia. Try to empathize with their perspectives and identify their main concerns and motivations. This will help you tailor your message and address their specific needs and expectations.

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Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen

Innovation keynote speaker, Number One Thought Leader Design Thinking 2024, LinkedIn Top Voice helping you and your organisation, to become amazing innovators with keynotes, workshops, and a proven innovation method.
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The ‘ART OF ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS’ is a hidden super power in business. In my role as innovation facilitator I use the TEDI model. The right flow of questions can reveal a lot of information. But how do you ask the right questions? Somewhere I read about TEDI. -Tell me about… -Explain… -Describe for me… -If you were x, then what would be your thoughts on y? I like to expand it to TEDI+, as it’s even more powerful when you dare to ask the ‘Why…? Why …? Why …?’ question frequently to dig deeper. Spend 95% of your time exploring the reson of skepticism, EINSTEIN advised us 😉✅.

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2 Show the evidence and benefits

The second step to overcome skepticism is to show the evidence and benefits of your innovation model. This means providing concrete examples, data, and testimonials that illustrate how your model works, what problems it solves, and what value it creates. You can also use storytelling, analogies, and metaphors to make your model more relatable and memorable. Focus on the positive outcomes and impact of your innovation model, rather than the technical details or features.

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3 Involve and engage your audience

The third step to overcome skepticism is to involve and engage your audience in your innovation process. This means inviting them to participate, collaborate, and co-create with you, rather than imposing or presenting your model to them. You can use various methods and tools, such as workshops, surveys, prototypes, or feedback loops, to solicit their input, feedback, and ideas. This will help you build trust, rapport, and buy-in with your audience, as well as refine and improve your model based on their insights and suggestions.

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4 Experiment and iterate

The fourth step to overcome skepticism is to experiment and iterate your innovation model. This means testing your assumptions, hypotheses, and solutions in the real world, rather than relying on theory or speculation. You can use lean, agile, or design thinking principles to design, launch, and evaluate your experiments quickly and cheaply. This will help you validate your model, learn from your failures, and adapt to changing conditions and customer needs.

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Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen

Innovation keynote speaker, Number One Thought Leader Design Thinking 2024, LinkedIn Top Voice helping you and your organisation, to become amazing innovators with keynotes, workshops, and a proven innovation method.
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EXPERIMENT BY PRETOTYPING IWhat is pretotyping? YOU FAKE IT BEFORE YOU MAKE IT 🤗✅. Check it out here … Pretotyping is a technique for testing hypotheses and validating ideas quickly and cost-effectively. It involves creating a simplified version of a product or service to collect user feedback and understand market demand. For example, in the food industry, a company may pretotype a new salad recipe by offering a limited quantity to a small group of potential customers to gauge their interest before investing in full-scale production. Pretotyping helps reduce the risk of failure by assessing market response early in the development process. Check out another example of Tesla later in this article.

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5 Celebrate and share your successes

The fifth step to overcome skepticism is to celebrate and share your successes with your audience. This means acknowledging and rewarding your achievements, milestones, and learnings, as well as showcasing and promoting your results and impact. You can use various channels and formats, such as reports, presentations, videos, or social media, to share your stories, insights, and lessons learned. This will help you create a positive feedback loop, increase your credibility and visibility, and inspire others to join or support your innovation journey.

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6 Challenge and update your model

The sixth step to overcome skepticism is to challenge and update your model regularly. This means being open-minded, curious, and humble about your innovation model, rather than being complacent, arrogant, or defensive. You can use various sources and methods, such as research, benchmarking, or feedback, to monitor and evaluate your model's performance, relevance, and sustainability. This will help you identify and address any gaps, weaknesses, or opportunities for improvement, as well as keep your model fresh and innovative.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen

Innovation keynote speaker, Number One Thought Leader Design Thinking 2024, LinkedIn Top Voice helping you and your organisation, to become amazing innovators with keynotes, workshops, and a proven innovation method.
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CONVINCE SCEPTICS LIKE TESLA DID … Tesla used a Lotus Elise to interest potential buyers for their first car. In 2003, the founders of Tesla had an ambitious idea (an all-electric 2-door sports car). In order to convince potential buyers to order its car, Tesla created a pretotype of what the car would look like. Lotus supplied Tesla with a ‘glider’ Elise - which was filled with models of key components. This was not a prototype, because the vehicle didn’t function. Tesla was able to show buyers a close proxy for the final design. Tesla asked “Will you put down a $5,000 deposit to have it built to order?” From this test Tesla secured several hundred deposits, a non-trivial result to reassure their Investors.

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How do you overcome skepticism when introducing a new innovation model?

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1 Understand the source of skepticism

2 Show the evidence and benefits

3 Involve and engage your audience

4 Experiment and iterate

5 Celebrate and share your successes

6 Challenge and update your model

7 Here’s what else to consider

Creativity Skills

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How do you overcome skepticism when introducing a new innovation model?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Understand the source of skepticism

2 Show the evidence and benefits

3 Involve and engage your audience

4 Experiment and iterate

5 Celebrate and share your successes

6 Challenge and update your model

7 Here’s what else to consider

Creativity Skills

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