Integrity-Driven Innovation Canvas

Purpose

This toolkit provides a structured, one-page canvas and a facilitated workshop guide for teams to use their company's core values as a lens for innovation. Its purpose is to move beyond using values as a simple constraint ("what we won't do") and to transform them into a proactive source of new ideas for products, services, and business models that create both financial and social value.

Part 1: Tool Blueprint & Overview

This section outlines the foundational design, philosophy, and components of the toolkit.

1.1. Primary Objective

• To provide a creative and structured process for a team to brainstorm new, commercially viable opportunities that are an authentic expression of the company's core values. The goal is to generate innovative ideas that strengthen the company's brand, deepen stakeholder trust, and create a competitive advantage that is deeply rooted in the organization's unique character. This process helps build a strategic "moat" that competitors cannot easily cross because it is based on authentic culture, not just features.

1.2. Key Components

• A. The Integrity-Driven Innovation Canvas: A one-page, visual canvas with distinct sections that guides a team to brainstorm new opportunities at the intersection of a core company value, an unmet stakeholder need, and a unique company capability. It is designed to be a simple, repeatable tool for generating high-quality, values-aligned ideas. (Content detailed in Part 2).

• B. The Facilitator's Guide for an Innovation Workshop: A step-by-step guide for running a half-day (3-4 hour) innovation session using the canvas. It will include instructions for preparation, brainstorming exercises, and a process for prioritizing the best ideas. This guide empowers a leader to facilitate a session that is both creative and strategically productive. (Content detailed in Part 3).

1.3. Core Concepts of the Toolkit

• 1. Values as a Creative Lens: The core concept is that a well-defined value is not just a rulebook; it's a unique perspective on the world. A value like "Radical Transparency" can become a powerful lens that reveals opportunities for new products or services that competitors, who don't share that value, would never see. While a competitor is asking, "How can we make our pricing sound simpler?", the values-driven company asks, "How can we make our pricing completely transparent?" This different question leads to a fundamentally different, and often more powerful, innovation.

• 2. Stakeholder Empathy as an R&D Tool: This toolkit is based on the principle that the most profound insights for innovation come from a deep and empathetic understanding of the challenges, frustrations, and unmet needs of your key stakeholders (customers, employees, community, etc.). Traditional market research often asks people what they want; an empathy-based approach seeks to understand what they need, even if they can't articulate it. The canvas forces teams to start with the stakeholder's problem, not their own solution, leading to more meaningful and impactful innovations.

Part 2: The Integrity-Driven Innovation Canvas

This canvas is a visual tool designed to be printed on a large sheet of paper or drawn on a whiteboard for a team brainstorming session. The goal is to fill out each section to move from a high-level value to a concrete innovation concept.

2.1. The Canvas Template

(1) Our Core Value (The Lens)

Which of our core values will be our lens for this innovation? What are the specific behaviors that define it?

--> (2) Our Key Stakeholder

Which specific stakeholder group are we focusing on? (Be specific, e.g., "new parents," "junior engineers").

--> (3) Their Unmet Need / Frustration

What is a specific problem, frustration, or unmet need they have that relates to our value? What is the emotion they feel? (e.g., "confusion," "anxiety," "distrust").

+ (4) Our Unique Capability

What unique skill, asset, technology, or capability do we have that can help solve this problem?

= (5) The "How Might We...?" Statement

How might we use our unique capability to solve this stakeholder's need in a way that is a powerful and authentic expression of our core value?

--> (6) The Innovative Idea

What is the specific new product, service, or business model we could create? Give it a name.

--> (7) The Impact

If we were successful, what would be the positive impact on the stakeholder, our business, and our brand?

2.2. How to Use the Canvas: Pre-Filled Examples

Example 1: A B2B Software Company

1. Our Core Value

Radical Transparency: We believe in being honest and open, even when it's difficult.

2. Our Key Stakeholder

Our Customers (specifically, new customers during the sales process).

3. Their Unmet Need / Frustration

"I don't trust sales quotes. I'm always worried about hidden fees, confusing tiers, and that I'm not getting the same price as everyone else. The whole process feels like a black box."

4. Our Unique Capability

We have a powerful, data-driven internal cost modeling tool that our finance team uses to calculate the exact cost to serve each customer.

5. The "How Might We...?" Statement

"How might we use our internal cost modeling tool to create a sales process that is a powerful expression of our value of Radical Transparency?"

6. The Innovative Idea

The "Transparent Pricing" Calculator: A public-facing, interactive tool on our website. Potential customers can input their specific needs (e.g., number of users, data storage, support level), and the calculator will show them exactly how we calculate their price: our cost to serve, our standard margin, and the final price. It would be the same tool our sales team uses.

7. The Impact

* On the Customer: Builds immediate and profound trust. The customer feels respected and empowered, not "sold to."
* On Our Business: Dramatically shortens the sales cycle by eliminating negotiation. Acts as a powerful lead generation and qualification tool.
* On Our Brand: Becomes a legendary part of our brand story. We would be famous as "the company that shows you the math," creating a powerful competitive advantage that is very difficult for our competitors to copy.

Example 2: A Retail Bank

1. Our Core Value

Community Roots: We are committed to the financial health of the communities we serve.

2. Our Key Stakeholder

Our Community (specifically, young adults and families struggling with financial literacy).

3. Their Unmet Need / Frustration

"I feel anxious and ashamed about my lack of financial knowledge. I don't know how to budget, save, or invest, and I'm too embarrassed to ask for help at a bank because I don't want to be sold something I don't understand."

4. Our Unique Capability

We have a network of physical branch locations and experienced, trusted financial advisors.

5. The "How Might We...?" Statement

"How might we use our physical branches and trusted advisors to address the community's need for financial literacy in a way that is a powerful expression of our value of Community Roots?"

6. The Innovative Idea

The "Financial Health Hub": Transform a section of our branches into community education centers. Offer free, no-strings-attached weekly workshops on personal finance basics (budgeting, saving, credit scores). Staff these workshops with our salaried financial advisors, with a strict "no sales pitch" rule. The goal is purely education and trust-building.

7. The Impact

* On the Community: Provides a safe, accessible, and desperately needed resource to improve financial well-being. Builds goodwill and strengthens our social license to operate.
* On Our Business: Becomes the most powerful and authentic form of marketing and customer acquisition. When these newly-educated individuals are ready to open a savings account or get a mortgage, we will be the only bank they trust.
* On Our Brand: Differentiates us from every other bank. We become known as the bank that genuinely invests in its community's financial health.

Part 3: The Facilitator's Guide for an Innovation Workshop

This guide provides the step-by-step instructions for preparing and running a successful half-day (4-hour) Integrity-Driven Innovation workshop.

3.1. Preparation & Setup

• Pre-Work for Participants (Optional but Recommended): One week before the workshop, send the "Stakeholder Empathy Map" exercise below. Ask each participant to complete one map for a stakeholder group they interact with regularly. This will generate much deeper insights for the workshop.

• Stakeholder Empathy Map Exercise:

1. Stakeholder: Who is the person we are empathizing with?

2. What do they SEE? What does their environment look like?

3. What do they HEAR? What are their colleagues, friends, and boss saying?

4. What do they THINK & FEEL? What are their major worries and aspirations?

5. What do they SAY & DO? What is their attitude? What do they say to others?

6. PAIN: What are their biggest frustrations and obstacles?

7. GAIN: What do they truly want to achieve? What does success look like for them?

• Prepare the Room:

• You will need a large whiteboard or several flip charts.

• Print multiple blank copies of the "Integrity-Driven Innovation Canvas" (at least one for each small group).

• Have plenty of Post-it notes and sharpies for each participant.

3.2. Workshop Agenda & Flow (4-Hour Session)

• (0:00-0:20) Welcome & Framing the "Creative Lens"

• The leader welcomes the group and sets the context.

• The facilitator introduces the objective: "Our goal today is to use our core values not as a set of rules, but as a creative lens to find new opportunities. We're going to look for problems our competitors can't see, because they don't see the world the way we do."

• (0:20-1:00) Module 1: Empathy & Opportunity Finding

• Exercise: "Stakeholder Frustration Brainstorm." On a whiteboard, brainstorm a list of key stakeholder groups. As a group, list the biggest frustrations or unmet needs for each one.

• Facilitator's Pro-Tip: Use the results from other Logos Ethica tools as inputs here. For example: "The SIAA showed a gap in how we support our managers. What are their frustrations?" or "The VPCB survey revealed that employees feel a lack of career growth. Let's explore that unmet need."

• Exercise: "Value Pairing." The facilitator asks the group: "Which of these frustrations feels most connected to one of our core values? Where is there a clear misalignment between our value and the stakeholder's experience?" The goal is to select the 2-3 most promising "Value + Stakeholder Need" pairs to explore further.

• (1:00-2:00) Module 2: Ideation with the Canvas

• Exercise: "Canvas Brainstorm in Groups." Divide the participants into small groups. Assign one of the "Value + Stakeholder Need" pairs to each group.

• Task: Instruct each group to work together to fill out one complete "Integrity-Driven Innovation Canvas" for their assigned pair. Encourage them to be creative and ambitious in the "Innovative Idea" section.

• (2:00-2:20) Break

• (2:20-3:20) Module 3: Sharing & Building on Ideas

• Exercise: "Gallery Walk & Idea Showcase." Each group posts their completed canvas on the wall. One person from each group stays with their canvas to act as a "curator," while the other members walk around to see the other ideas.

• Facilitator's Role: Encourage participants to use Post-it notes to add questions, comments, or "builds" (ideas that make another group's concept even better) to the other canvases.

• Exercise: "Group Presentations." Each group's curator briefly presents their canvas and the feedback they received to the full team.

• (3:20-4:00) Module 4: Prioritization & Commitment

• Exercise: "Impact vs. Excitement" Voting. List the top 3-5 innovative ideas on a whiteboard. Give each participant two dot stickers: one for the idea they believe will have the biggest business impact, and one for the idea they are personally most excited about. This captures both the rational and the emotional energy behind the ideas.

• Exercise: "Next Steps & Ownership." For the top 1-2 ideas with the most votes, the group defines a clear and simple "next step" (e.g., "Spend one day creating a mock-up," "Interview five customers to validate the need"). Assign a volunteer "champion" who is responsible for ensuring that next step happens within the next two weeks.

Closing: The leader closes the session by thanking the team for their creativity and reinforcing the idea that integrity is a powerful engine for growth.