Have you ever had an idea you were so excited about, only to watch it fizzle out because you couldn’t quite make it happen? I’ve seen that story play out countless times, and it’s exactly why I believe innovation isn’t about having the brightest idea in the room. It’s about bringing ideas to life. The world is full of clever concepts that never see daylight. The true challenge—and the true reward comes from turning thoughts into outcomes.
Watch the whole recording here.
One of the biggest misconceptions I run into is that innovation belongs only to tech giants or teams of designers hidden away in creative labs. It’s not about cutting-edge inventions or flashy technology. Innovation simply means creating new value, and that can happen anywhere, in any business, of any size. It might be as small as a local café introducing QR code ordering to cut down waiting times or as transformative as a power company using virtual reality to train its field workers safely. The thread that connects them all is that they found a way to take an idea and make it work in practice.
The temptation many businesses face is to equate innovation with brainstorming. Endless whiteboard sessions can feel energising, but if nothing moves forward, they just become a distraction. I’ve worked with organisations that set up dedicated innovation labs with all the latest gadgets, only to realise they weren’t delivering real value. The lesson is that ideas on their own are not enough. What matters is the system you use to prioritise, validate, and implement them.
One client I worked with in the energy sector had thousands of employees in the field doing dangerous work every day. They came to me with an ambitious vision: could immersive technologies like AR and VR make their people safer and better trained? They had a long list of possibilities, but without a framework, they risked spreading themselves too thin. Together, we created a clear process to validate which ideas mattered most. Safety became the top measure of value, and from there, we built a roadmap that balanced cost, impact, and feasibility. That’s how an overwhelming wish list turned into a focused plan with clear outcomes.
Another client, an education business that supported international students, had an add-on service they believed could be much more valuable. They sensed potential, but needed proof before investing heavily. We dug into customer research, looked at what students truly needed, and built a business case that prioritised the initiatives with the strongest return. By aligning the roadmap with their goals, they could move forward with confidence instead of guesswork. The real shift wasn’t just in the projects they pursued, but in how they made decisions going forward.
What these stories show is that innovation is as much about discipline as it is about creativity. The framework I use is deliberately simple: gather insights, validate ideas, prioritise them, and implement with clarity. It starts with listening—really listening—to customers, staff, and data. Too many businesses skip this step, convinced they already know what people want. But curiosity is your best ally. Then comes validation, and this doesn’t have to mean months of research. Quick, scrappy tests can save you from wasting years on an idea that won’t land. Once you’ve got promising options, you prioritise them against your goals. The trap is trying to do everything at once. A clear ranking helps channel energy into what truly matters. Finally, you implement in a way that brings people along with you, because the best innovation will fail if no one understands why it’s happening or how it makes their lives better.
The beauty of this approach is that it works just as well for a sole trader as it does for a multinational. A photographer adding a virtual album builder, a bookshop introducing a quiet hour for neurodiverse customers, or a government agency rewording tax reminders to encourage payments—all are small shifts that create big value. Each comes from looking closely at where things could be better, testing ideas against reality, and having the courage to follow through.
Of course, there are common pitfalls to avoid. Some organisations fall into analysis paralysis, endlessly modelling scenarios without taking action. Others try to do too much at once, diluting their efforts and confusing their teams. And many simply get caught up in business as usual, so busy fighting fires that they forget to step back and ask what could be improved. The antidote to all three is the same: a simple, repeatable system that keeps you focused on creating value.
Innovation is a habit, not a project. It’s not something you dust off once a year when the market changes or a competitor launches a new product. It’s a rhythm of listening, testing, learning, and improving. The small wins matter as much as the big ones, because they build momentum and confidence.
Over time, that’s what makes a business resilient, adaptable, and genuinely competitive.
If there’s one message I hope you take away, it’s that innovation is within your reach, no matter the size of your business. It doesn’t require a lab, a huge budget, or a team of specialists. It requires curiosity, discipline, and the willingness to put ideas into action. If that sounds like the kind of change you’re ready for, let’s keep the conversation going. I’d love to hear what ideas you’ve been holding onto and how we can turn them into something real—maybe over a coffee, or at the next Masterclass.