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Bottom-up Starts with Informal Teams (Coalitions)

(Page reetired August 2013, combined with this page.)

When you get the idea, talk about it with innovative customers and validate its worth.

Seek out other innovators in your company to talk it through, to refine the idea and to provide you with political cover. Take your time here. Give folks time to consider the idea.

Create a simple demonstration, from existing budgets, that can present the idea in less than 15 minutes. It has got to be clear, concise, and simple. Pick a "change agent" to present the idea, a very good communicator.

With the other team members, determine how to fund it: existing budgets, debt, with a customer's help. The most challenging question you will be asked is "what's it going to cost?"

When the timing is right, seek out the decision maker privately; give the demonstration; lay out the business model; and address timing issues. Ask for funding for a public demonstration. If needed, set up a three person steering group just below the decision maker. Let them broaden the coalition.

All great ideas have timing issues. Validate the concept through the public demonstration when the time is right, and if it works, go for it. We'll discuss how to do this in the Meetings chapter.