Execution Toolkit
Tools to validate customer demand before you commit engineering resources.
Field-tested across 45+ engagements with industrial companies including Schneider Electric, Renault, and Nissan.
Strategy & Definition
Defining where to play and why.
Related guide: Canvases and templates, on Franck's blog.
- PDF Opportunity Canvas Map customer intent before designing the business response: who the customer is, what they are trying to get done, and only then the solution, channels, and revenue. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Scenario & Fiction Canvas Cross two critical uncertainties into four future worlds, imagine the artefact that only makes sense in each, then read your portfolio: resilient core, concentrated bets, blind spots, no-regret moves. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Business Challenge Framing A one-page canvas to scope an innovation challenge before building anything: from "a topic we were handed" to a sharp problem, a measurable success metric, and the one customer to interview first. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PPTX Lean Innovation Canvas Align your team on a new venture's fundamentals before investing time and resources into building. Source: Forward (download PPTX)
- PDF Business Model Canvas Design a new business model or document and analyze an existing one with stakeholders. Source: Strategyzer (download PDF)
- PDF Impact Evaluation Matrix A framework to quantify innovation value across revenue potential, strategic optionality, and risk reduction, giving finance teams the language to approve investment decisions. Source: Forward (download PDF)
Ideation & Discovery
Generating solutions and gathering market signal.
Related guide: Customer interviews, on Franck's blog.
- PDF Rapid Ideation Protocols A structured protocol that forces teams to generate 50+ ideas in 90 minutes, before filtering down to the five worth testing. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Customer Signal Decoder Validate the problem directly with real customers before investing in a solution. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Leadership Calibration Drills Drills that build the habit of testing assumptions quickly, before habits of long-form analysis take over. Source: THNK (download PDF)
- PDF Speed Boat Collect pain points from a group without asking "what are your problems?": a boat-and-anchors metaphor where placement depth ranks severity, no voting round needed. Source: Hohmann / Forward (download PDF)
- Notion Design Sprint Protocols Ready-to-use exercises for empathy, ideation, or prototyping in innovation workshops. Source: Forward (opens Notion in a new tab)
Decision & Validation
De-risking assumptions and prioritizing features.
Related guide: MVP and experiments, on Franck's blog.
- PDF Bezos Decision Framework Know which choices require deep analysis vs. quick action to overcome decision paralysis. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Assumption Stress Test Prioritize which risky assumptions to test first before running experiments. Source: Forward (download PDF)
- PDF Kano Model Guide Prioritize features based on what will truly delight customers. Source: Forward (download PDF)
Management & Execution
Governance, shipping, and scaling the solution.
Related guide: The intrapreneur, on Franck's blog.
- Notion AI Co-Pilot Toolkit Pre-built AI prompts for each phase of the innovation process: customer interview synthesis, assumption mapping, and concept stress-testing. Source: Forward (opens Notion in a new tab)
- PDF Corporate Antibody Defense Practical tactics for keeping new ventures alive when the organisation tries to kill them. Source: Forward (download PDF)
Get certified in the Forward Method
Beyond using these tools, your teams can get formally certified in our innovation methodology, the same process used across 45+ industrial engagements. Certification gives your organisation a shared language, a repeatable process, and internal capability that doesn't depend on us.
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