Marlow combines his plans and experience with Susan’s knowledge of the organization to create a rough outline of the innovation game plan. Can they refine the details to make sure their plan aligns with the goals and budget they’d been given?

Marlow and Susan start to build the momentum around the innovation project by tackling several important issues simultaneously. They desperately need to demonstrate short-term, actionable results in order to lift off.

While working hard to push the innovation plan forward in record time, Marlow is surprised to find he has been assigned a new team member. He discovers quickly that the new colleague is very invested in the existing processes and methods. They’ve thrown him yet another obstacle instead of a much-needed catalyst.

After reaching their first peak of convincing Accipiter to implement an innovation program, now begins the actual work of creating and executing a plan that will make the organization more innovative. The path seems daunting at first, but Marlow has enough experience under his belt to guide the way.

Bright and early Monday morning Marlow heads back to Accipiter hoping that the executive promise of a full commitment to innovation has not died down over the weekend. Will all his hard work finally pay off?

With Accipiter’s innovation project launch date set for Monday, Marlow spends the weekend ruminating about all of the possible outcomes. Will all go as planned?

With Marlow’s time heavily invested in one potentially big client, his colleagues have been picking up the slack on the other running innovation projects for months. Will Marlow’s persistence and investment in the Accipiter project pay off for the firm?

With the innovation initiative now under way at Accipiter, it’s time to decide which senior executive will sponsor the project. Nerves run high, as the outcome will affect the entire team.

It’s game time at last – the full innovation immersion program. Susan and Marlow present their plans to encourage much more innovative thinking and new product development, to develop an innovation process and methodology with a centralized innovation team – in short, to change the entire dynamic at Accipiter. Now that the stakes are high, will the CEO keep playing?

After months of being given the run around by the executives at Accipiter and with with recent success of the innovation presentation still fresh in his mind, Marlowe contemplates the next steps in the development of their innovation initiative.

After a successful innovation presentation and strong encouragement to move forward with their plans, Marlowe and Susan are elated. The question remains why some senior executives had been holding them back when it was clear to the CEO that innovation was the only option to move forward?

Marlowe and Susan present their strategic innovation plan to the senior executives at Accipiter, recommending incremental innovation for organic growth, and disruptive innovation in new products. The question is, have they created enough innovation momentum to convince management to take on two simultaneous innovation projects?

After six months of uncertainty and misdirection, headfakes and management gibberish, Marlowe and Susan are finally going to bring their innovation community at Accipiter to a head.

Just as Marlowe and Susan are ready to present their vision document to management, they discover some of the members will not be attending. Another disappointing setback for the innovation community.

After Marlowe and Susan work well into the evening to develop a strategic document for the management team to review and approve, they head out for some quality co-worker time.