
Innovate Where You Differentiate
Prioritizing Innovation Investments to Drive the Greatest Impact
Innovation Keynote by Stephen Shapiro

To get the most from your innovation efforts, you need to know how to choose where to place your bets. If you try to be great at everything, you’ll be great at nothing. The key is to define and refine your differentiator – the reason why customers do business with you and not someone else. This practical and powerful keynote (or workshop) helps teams get clarity around what makes them special and then gives them the tools to use to prioritize investments.
The two key frameworks people learn are:
- The 5Ds of Differentiation – Your differentiator needs to be Distinctive, Desirable, Durable, Disruption-Proof, and Disseminated to have long-lasting impact. You will leave the session on a clear roadmap for defining your differentiation strategy.
- The Innovation Targeting Matrix – This simple model helps organizations drive tenfold improvements on their innovation ROI
You will discover that being different is not the same as being differentiated.
Armed with these tools, everyone in your organization will gain clarity on how to prioritize their time so that each and every person makes the greatest impact. The goal is to innovate where you differentiate.
Read his Harvard Business Review article, “Do You Know What Makes Your Company Distinctive?” to learn more about his perspectives on differentiation.
All participants receive access to a digital portal with a variety of materials, including 4 pages of questions they can ask customers to clarify their differentiator. You don’t just leave this session with new insights; you leave with the tools necessary to turn the concepts into reality.
NOTE: This speech is the topic of his next book, which will be released in 2024. If you are interested in learning more about the book, please contact us.