Module 15•Unit 5 of 5•10 min

Case Study: Building a Program

How do you turn a big company full of talented people into one that reliably produces innovation? In 2013, Adobe tackled exactly this with a program called Kickbox, created by innovation lead Mark Randall. It is a clean example of designing structures, roles, and process so that innovation becomes systematic rather than accidental - and Adobe later open-sourced it for others to use.

The literal red box

Any employee could get a bright red box containing a step-by-step innovation process, a $1,000 prepaid card, and even some snacks. No permission needed, no committee to pitch first. The box turned "someone should try this" into "you can start today".

How the program was designed

Click each design choice to reveal the thinking.

The lesson

Innovation capability is designed, not wished into being. Adobe combined a clear structure (who can innovate), defined roles (intrapreneur, sponsor, gatekeeper), a disciplined process (validate before you build), and real incentives (funding, autonomy). Get those working together and innovation stops being luck and starts being a capability.

Discuss

If you designed a Kickbox for your organization, what would be in the box - and which barrier (permission, funding, process, fear of failure) would it need to remove first?

Try this at work this week

Sketch your own one-page innovation program: who can start an idea, what process they follow, who sponsors and gates it, and what resources they get. That sketch is the beginning of a real innovation capability.

Sources

Adobe, "Kickbox" open-source innovation program (kickbox.org).
Docherty, M. & Adobe, Kickbox program documentation.
Global Innovation Institute (GInI), Foundations of Innovation body of knowledge.

Structures & Roles

Knowledge Check