Stories

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For the final module, Jonathon reveals one of the most applicable innovation techniques he's discovered. This technique has consistently proven useful in selling-in ideas at Lowe's Innovation Lab. In the past, the equation for selling anything was need + solution = sale. If you could understand a buyer's needs and clearly map the benefits of your product or idea to those needs, you had a solution and could make a sale. Today, we need to think about our internal customers differently. The equation is now need + solution x narrative = sale. We need to think carefully about how we tell the story around our idea and which vehicles we use.

Following interviews with several executives at Lowe's Innovation Lab, Jonathon reveals the story-telling vehicle and approach that led to a green light on an exoskeleton project they dreamed up. Again, though an idea may seem logical when presented directly, the reality of the business climate on any given day can mean significant roadblocks need to be overcome. In order to get past any potential nitpicking, Lowe's backed up and thought about the bigger picture. They created a story around their exoskeleton idea and hired writers and illustrators to create a comic book.