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Why do most innovation programs fail - spectacularly?

Because they start from the wrong end.

They begin with what’s possible. Or what leadership thinks is important. Or what a framework said “should” work. The result? Projects that burn millions, delight no one, and quietly die in a corner of the org chart.

This book is about doing the opposite.

The Working Backwards Toolkit (WBT) is a set of practical, pick-up-and-use tools that flip the innovation process on its head. Instead of starting with your idea, it starts with your customer. Instead of hoping a mindset shift changes behavior, it changes behavior first - through concrete action. Instead of relying on frameworks or buzzwords, it applies the scientific method to business questions. Real data. Real speed. Real results.

This is not a book of theory. It’s a book that drives execution.

The WBT has been battle-tested by governments, startups, and Fortune 100s alike. It's helped teams go from blank whiteboards to validated billion-dollar ventures. At last count, enterprises who have adopted the WBT have gone on to secure over 100M in internal/external funding to market new ventures, with a combined revenue impact of over 25B since 2019. It's also helped bureaucracies become nimble and innovators get unstuck. Most importantly, it delivers consistent results - not just when the team is "in the zone," but at scale, across roles, regions, and perspectives.

The WBT is a set of practical, hands-on Tools that allow organizations to innovate faster, more effectively, and at lower costs while simultaneously delighting customers, reducing risk, creating transparency. It provides the scaffolding needed for innovation governance and drives higher returns on innovation investments!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do most innovation programs fail - spectacularly?

Because they start from the wrong end.

They begin with what’s possible. Or what leadership thinks is important. Or what a framework said “should” work. The result? Projects that burn millions, delight no one, and quietly die in a corner of the org chart.

This book is about doing the opposite.

The Working Backwards Toolkit (WBT) is a set of practical, pick-up-and-use tools that flip the innovation process on its head. Instead of starting with your idea, it starts with your customer. Instead of hoping a mindset shift changes behavior, it changes behavior first - through concrete action. Instead of relying on frameworks or buzzwords, it applies the scientific method to business questions. Real data. Real speed. Real results.

This is not a book of theory. It’s a book that drives execution.

The WBT has been battle-tested by governments, startups, and Fortune 100s alike. It's helped teams go from blank whiteboards to validated billion-dollar ventures. At last count, enterprises who have adopted the WBT have gone on to secure over 100M in internal/external funding to market new ventures, with a combined revenue impact of over 25B since 2019. It's also helped bureaucracies become nimble and innovators get unstuck. Most importantly, it delivers consistent results - not just when the team is "in the zone," but at scale, across roles, regions, and perspectives.

The WBT is a set of practical, hands-on Tools that allow organizations to innovate faster, more effectively, and at lower costs while simultaneously delighting customers, reducing risk, creating transparency. It provides the scaffolding needed for innovation governance and drives higher returns on innovation investments!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do most innovation programs fail - spectacularly?

Because they start from the wrong end.

They begin with what’s possible. Or what leadership thinks is important. Or what a framework said “should” work. The result? Projects that burn millions, delight no one, and quietly die in a corner of the org chart.

This book is about doing the opposite.

The Working Backwards Toolkit (WBT) is a set of practical, pick-up-and-use tools that flip the innovation process on its head. Instead of starting with your idea, it starts with your customer. Instead of hoping a mindset shift changes behavior, it changes behavior first - through concrete action. Instead of relying on frameworks or buzzwords, it applies the scientific method to business questions. Real data. Real speed. Real results.

This is not a book of theory. It’s a book that drives execution.

The WBT has been battle-tested by governments, startups, and Fortune 100s alike. It's helped teams go from blank whiteboards to validated billion-dollar ventures. At last count, enterprises who have adopted the WBT have gone on to secure over 100M in internal/external funding to market new ventures, with a combined revenue impact of over 25B since 2019. It's also helped bureaucracies become nimble and innovators get unstuck. Most importantly, it delivers consistent results - not just when the team is "in the zone," but at scale, across roles, regions, and perspectives.

The WBT is a set of practical, hands-on Tools that allow organizations to innovate faster, more effectively, and at lower costs while simultaneously delighting customers, reducing risk, creating transparency. It provides the scaffolding needed for innovation governance and drives higher returns on innovation investments!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the book Who Moved my Ladder as described below:

The ladder is gone. Now what?

Maya Li thought she knew how her career would start: do the grunt work, build confidence, climb the ranks. But by the time she graduated in 2025, AI could already do what junior staff were once hired to learn.

Who Moved My Ladder follows Maya across four decades in a world reshaped by generative AI — where jobs remain, but growth paths vanish. Through her story, we explore what it really means to build a career when machines are your co-workers, your competition, and sometimes… your boss.

Part business fable, part leadership guide, this book offers a new model for career development in the AI era — one built not on titles or tasks, but on judgment, alignment, and the uniquely human capacity to ask, “Should we?”

Whether you’re just starting out, managing early-career talent, or redesigning how your organization grows its people, this book is your compass in an uncertain world.

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