%20(1).svg)
Writing
Because strategy, proposition, and innovation work is so nebulous, I find that articulating new concepts, methods and ideas in this space and writing them down helps me to get clearer on what I believe in and how things should be done.
Over the last few years, I've learned more through sitting down to write every week than from any course I've completed, boss I've reported to or project I've been involved in.
A happy byproduct of this is that people enjoy reading it, either because they're finding it hard to articulate themselves, they're facing a problem I'm addressing, or because it offers them a new perspective on something they're grappling with.
The list of topics I want to write about grows faster than I can cover them, but over the last year, it's helped me and, in turn, Future Foundry build an incredible audience of corporate innovators from all over the world.
More than 7,000 of you read our emails every week, which I'm both terrified by and grateful for.
But there's something else I want to do more of again this year that's been missing since lockdowns and our stampede en masse to Zoom and Teams.
Speaking
If writing is how I bring a sense of clarity to ethereal concepts like growth strategy, venture building and corporate culture, then speaking is how I share it.
Previously, I've spoken at CES, SXSW and Innov8rs - I love it, and I'll do more of it this year, but it's hard.
It's hard to gauge where everyone in that audience is in terms of their innovation journey, their company's level of readiness, and their team's maturity, so every talk gets pitched somewhere in the middle.
This year, I want to do some talks that are perfectly pitched to the audience I'm speaking to. Which means I want to go out on the road and speak to companies and teams inside them at their retreats, strategy days or lunch-and-learn sessions.
There are five things that I can bring a perspective on for you:
How You Should Think About AI
In this talk, I'll explore strategic approaches for using AI in corporate innovation, emphasising its role in solving customer problems rather than starting with technology. You’ll learn about balancing AI's benefits against its limitations across innovation stages, including horizon scanning and prototype testing while avoiding over-reliance on AI for nuanced decision-making.
Unleashing Growth Through Innovation
Discover the three critical levers for growth—decoupling growth from volume, leveraging assets creatively, and exploring new markets. This talk will illustrate how companies like Apple, Amazon and Netflix have harnessed these strategies for scalable growth, providing actionable insights for applying these levers in your organisation.
The Science of Testing New Ideas
Learn a structured approach to testing new ideas, minimising risk, and ensuring only viable, desirable, and feasible innovations proceed. This talk will guide you through a phased testing methodology from low to high fidelity, emphasising the importance of validation before significant investment.
Crafting Winning Business Cases
Uncover how to secure funding for your ideas with a compelling business case. This talk will delve into the five critical questions that guide the creation of persuasive business cases, blending data with storytelling to articulate the value and ensure support from sponsors.
Building a Corporate Innovation Engine
Discover how to overcome common barriers to innovation and build a dynamic, efficient engine that drives growth. This talk will cover ten critical components for a successful innovation system, including setting clear objectives, establishing effective processes, and assembling a talented team to scale new ventures and services.
I'm committing to doing one per quarter, so if you'd like to book me for one of those four slots to come and share a point of view, stimulate some thinking and have people leave feeling energised and inspired, drop me a note here - we can have a 15-minute chat and see if it's a good fit.
Written by Jacob Dutton, Co-Founder & CEO @ Future Foundry
