Struggling to build innovation momentum?

Ever tried getting a toddler into wellies mid-tantrum?

That’s how innovation often feels inside engineering firms.

Well-intentioned. Loads of pushback.

You *might* get there, but it’s never smooth. Some days you wonder

if it’s even worth the effort.

Which is why it so often gets quietly shelved.

Not cancelled, just... delayed. Again.

Until there’s “more time” or “more clarity” or “a better moment.”

In the meantime, the focus stays locked on keeping existing systems

running and customers happy, while the more uncomfortable

stuff (building for the future) stays in the too-hard pile.

It’s not that the people are the problem.

Far from it.

Engineering firms are full of smart, resourceful humans.

The issue is that the system is built for something else entirely:

getting products, code, or tech out the door.

Not for evolving how the business works, competes, or grows.

And that’s where things start to wobble.

You’ll find innovation efforts scattered all over the place.

A shiny new prototype here.

A “transformation initiative” there.

A flurry of ideas from that away day last spring that never

made it past the sticky note phase.

It’s rarely deliberate sabotage.

But without real infrastructure, innovation floats. It looks like this:

• treated as a side hustle, not a strategic lever

• systems that are patchy, slow, or just symbolic

• communication gaps big enough to park a forklift in

• a culture that defaults to comfort, even while the strategy screams

  for change

What you get is orphaned pilots, dusty plans,

and a vague sense that “we should be doing more”,

with no shared picture of what “more” actually means.

What to build instead

This is where the Defankle Stack comes in.

Not a borrowed framework,

but a practical way to rewire how innovation works inside engineering and

technology-led businesses.

It’s not about running harder.

It’s about running better; with alignment, structure, and a system that fits your reality.

Start here:

Strategy: what are we actually trying to win at?

If your innovation activity isn’t connected to a business goal, it’s just noise.

• be clear on the commercial ambition

• choose where innovation effort matters most

• make trade-offs explicit (budget, risk, time)

• find leverage points for big impact

• configure resources for advantage

Can your ops lead explain the innovation strategy in plain English?

Systems: how does anything actually happen?

You can’t deliver innovation on vibes, sharpies and post it notes alone.

• define how ideas build and move through the organisation

• clarify who decides what, and when

• align resourcing properly: time, money, people

• enable better, quicker decision making and access to good information

• avoid bureaucracy, box ticking and death by committee.

  
  

If your innovation plan lives in someone’s inbox, you haven’t got a system yet.

Story: does anyone know what’s going on?

Story isn't branding or for inducing sleep in toddlers. It's how strategy becomes behaviour.

It:

• helps leaders communicate with clarity, not clichés and waffle

• builds clarity, consistency and trust

• brings the why, what and how to life.

• uses narrative to make the change real and repeatable

• sets simple rhythms that keep the direction visible

  
  

If no one can repeat the story in their own words, they haven’t bought in.

Culture: is innovation allowed to breathe?

Culture isn’t what you say. It’s what people do when no one’s looking.

• reward the right behaviours (even the early wobbly ones)

• make it safe to try, and fail, and learn

• show what good looks like, from the top (leadership matters here)

• create space for experimentation.

• Build teams that welcome and seek out diverse perspectives

• 
  

If failure gets punished, don’t expect experiments.

The takeaway

Innovation doesn’t fail because people aren’t creative. It fails because the system isn’t built for it.

If you’re serious about doing things differently, stop waiting for the perfect idea.

Start building the stack that helps ideas turn into impact.

That's how you Defankle the mess.

And if you want help doing it, that’s what we’re here for.

#innovationstrategy #engineeringbusiness #defanklelogic