🔄 This article is a repurposed extract from Get S#!t Done—a short book of real-world lessons for leaders lifting innovation capability inside complex organisations.
When you work in innovation, people expect the big win. The shiny thing. The next big idea. But most innovation success stories don’t start that way. They start with something small. Something simple. Something that proves progress is possible. The leaders I spoke with consistently reinforced this: momentum matters more than magnitude. Especially early on.
Start where you can finish
Jodie Granger, award-winning CEO, director, and former Medibank executive, talked about the power of building credibility through early wins. When you’re trying to shift how an organisation thinks about innovation, no one is waiting for your theory. They’re waiting to see if you can actually deliver something that makes life better.
That’s where small, well-chosen projects come in. They’re not about scale. They’re about speed and signal. Done well, they show the business that innovation can create value, not just ideas.
Innovation doyen, Inge Cootjans echoed this. She shared how fast, visible progress helped her teams build trust across the organisation. You’re not asking for belief. You’re offering proof.
“Innovation needs trust before scale. Start with something you can finish.” — Jodie Granger
Progress is the best antidote to scepticism
Innovation is often met with doubt. Some of that’s fair. People have seen initiatives come and go. They’ve been asked to support pilots that never scaled. They’ve sat through “innovation theatre” and come away jaded.
That’s why early traction is so powerful. A working prototype. A new member experience. A process tweak that saves a few hours a week. These things speak louder than vision decks.
Progress is the best antidote to scepticism.
Start with something you can ship, learn from and talk about. Not because it solves everything. But because it proves you can get things done.
Learn fast, show value
Several guests talked about learning loops. Inge described how she kept her teams focused on feedback over perfection. Not just from customers, but from internal stakeholders too. Is this working? Do people care? What did we miss?
This approach creates a rhythm. Test something. Learn. Improve. Repeat. Over time, this builds a pattern of trust. Leaders stop seeing innovation as risky and start seeing it as reliable.
Share the story
One of the easiest ways to kill momentum is to do great work and keep it quiet. Share what’s working. Celebrate the team. Bring others into the story.
Peter Harmer talked about the importance of storytelling. Not just to communicate strategy, but to help people understand what innovation success looks like at their level. A win for a frontline team member might look different to a win at the executive level—but both matter. The more stories you share, the more your organisation starts to believe that change is possible.
Reflection prompts
- What small win could you deliver in the next 30 days?
- Who needs to see progress to become a supporter?
- Are you building for learning or approval?
- How are you celebrating and sharing early success?
Turn small wins into lasting momentum 🚀
If this post resonated, join me one at the Get S#!t Done (GSD) Workshop on 24 September.
This free, 90-minute online workshop is designed to help you:
- Break the cycle of “lots of talk, little progress.”
- Identify the right small wins to unlock momentum.
- Walk away with practical tools you can use straight away.
You’ll also get a free copy of Get S#!t Done as part of the session 👇🏻