Taking Innovation from PPT to PBT - From taglines to outcomes

Innovation is often visible in taglines, narratives, and presentations (PPTs), but does not always translate into outcomes reflected in Profit Before Tax (PBT).

For many organisations, the innovation journey often begins with articulation e.g.

• innovation-led taglines
• vision and mission statements
• strategic narratives
• transformation messaging

Some organisations go further and take measures such as:

• set up innovation labs
• launch dedicated initiatives
• include innovation in capability-building programmes
• establish new operating structures

In fact, some organisations even position testing or experimentation facilities as innovation centres.

The intent is visible. The aspiration is genuine.

Yet in many organisations, the outcomes do not always move at the pace or scale initially envisioned.

One possible reason may be that organisations often focus first on visible innovation measures before addressing deeper organisational alignment.

These may not always address deeper issues of fundamental alignment such as:

• What exactly does innovation mean in the organisation’s context?
• What kind of innovation is strategically relevant?
• How should innovation translate into business movement?
• Which execution pillars are necessary to sustain it?

Without this alignment, organisations can unintentionally create visible innovation activity without establishing the structural pathways required for intended business outcomes.

Across diverse organisations, this pattern appears more common than isolated.

In my experience, organisations that have succeeded in translating innovation intent into intended business outcomes — moved innovation from PPT to PBT, are often the ones that invested in the less visible aspects of innovation infrastructure, not just the visible ones.