Innovation leaders often struggle because their work is “invisible” until it’s a finished product. In this session, we learned from Parker Lee of Territory how to use visual storytelling to make the innovation process and learning a tangible asset. We also heard about:
• “Artifacts of Progress”: How to use prototypes and visual maps as “evidence” of value during the “messy middle” of a project.
• Communicating Downward: Keeping the team motivated as the C-suite pivots.
• The Budget Narrative: How to pitch “Options” instead of “Projects.”
Slides from this webcast are available in PPT and PDF form below. Lee also referred webcast participants to this assessment on innovation maturity and AI readiness.
Here are five tips that Lee shared during the webcast.
1. Make Your Progress Visible with Visual Artifacts
Innovation work often becomes invisible because leaders only see the beginning and end of a project, not the learning that happens in between. Lee recommends replacing text-heavy status updates with visual artifacts—such as customer journey maps or ecosystem maps—that make progress tangible and demonstrate the value your team is creating before a product launches.
2. Ask for Funding as a Series of Options, Not One Big Bet
Rather than presenting executives with an all-or-nothing investment decision, Lee recommends framing funding requests as staged options tied to learning milestones. This reduces perceived risk and creates flexibility. He advises, “You don’t want to pitch a single project,” and instead recommends showing a roadmap where early funding creates opportunities to “pivot or scale up, or to kill an idea.” Lee’s memorable reframing is that “You aren’t asking them to fund a $2 million unknown project. You’re asking them for $200,000 to buy the data and the knowledge required to make a smart decision.”
3. Communicate with Executives Through Visual Stories, Not Dense Presentations
Lee believes senior leaders respond better to concise visual narratives than lengthy slide decks. He recommends reducing executive presentations to three visual slides: the problem or opportunity, a compelling picture of the future, and a specific ask. His advice is straightforward: “Don’t bring a 20 to 40 page deck. Bring three highly visual slides.” By keeping presentations visual and story-driven, he says, “You stop the executives from wordsmithing the bullets,” and instead focus their attention on the strategic decision that matters.
4. Use a Shared North Star to Keep Teams Motivated Through Change
Beyond communicating upward, Lee emphasizes using visual storytelling internally to maintain alignment and morale. He recommends creating a visual “North Star” or even a team “flag” that illustrates the ultimate vision. His guidance is to “create a flag” so that when projects are canceled or priorities shift, the team understands they are simply taking “a different route to the same destination.” According to Lee, this approach “protects their psychological safety,” strengthens trust, and keeps people focused on the long-term mission.
5. Use AI as an Accelerator, but Keep Humans Responsible for Judgment
Lee is enthusiastic about AI’s ability to speed up visual strategy work, but he repeatedly warns against treating AI as a replacement for human thinking and collaboration. He calls AI “a game changer” and says his team uses it for “animations, storyboards, maps, presentations, anything visual.” However, he insists that every output “must be reviewed by multiple people,” and summarizes his philosophy with the phrase, “Be the human in the machine.” His core message is that AI should accelerate creativity and execution, while humans remain accountable for judgment, collaboration, alignment, and decision-making.
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