5 core beliefs drive MileZero 

1. Innovation is something different that creates value
2. Innovation requires curiosity, courage, and commitment
3. Any organization can innovate, and any person can be an innovator
4. People (even your customers and your boss) decide with their hearts and justify with their heads
5. Ideas are a dime a dozen.  Decisions are priceless.  Action is perfection.

When you work with MileZero, you will use innovation to unlock your business’s potential and get real results.  You’ll also learn how to keep using innovation to power your business because our collaboration will follow an “I do.  We do.  You do.” model that builds and reinforces your innovation capabilities and confidence. 

Meet Robyn M. Bolton

MileZero’s Founder and Chief Navigator

I founded MileZero to combine the best theories and frameworks in the world with a relentlessly practical and collaborative approach so that my clients will quickly realize the potential of their businesses, get real results, and build the capabilities and confidence to continue innovating.

You can read more about my professional experiences at Procter & Gamble, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Innosight (Clayton Christensen’s innovation and strategy consulting firm) by visiting my LinkedIn profile.

A conversation with Robyn 

The following is the transcript from a recent interview about MileZero and me.  Amazing things start with questions, stories, and conversations, so I hope you find this one helpful.

What is MileZero, and why did you create it?

When it comes to innovation, most companies have little to show for their efforts.  Executives are frustrated by a lack of results, and most people dismiss it as another “management flavor of the month.”

MileZero works with senior executives at medium and large companies committed to using innovation to drive revenue growth.

My “MileZero moment” happened when I could no longer ignore the fact that, despite thousands of people spending decades talking, writing, hosting events, and making attempts, the success rate of corporate innovation remained horrifically low.

Deep down in my bones, I realized that if we want different results, we need a different approach.

How are you different from other innovation consultants?

Four things make working with Mile Zero different from other firms:

1. Flexibility – I’m not trying to sell you my latest framework.  Instead, I listen deeply to you to understand the challenge you’re facing so that I can bring you the best framework(s) out there, and then we can work together to mold it into something that will work for you.
2. Focus – Unlike most consulting Partners, I’m not spread across dozens of projects, engaging with yours only to prep for and attend meetings.  I’m with you from start to finish, and I’m deeply involved in the work, so I can comment on every aspect and nuance, not just the few that pique my interest and lead me to believe I can sell you another project.
3. Humility – I know that I don’t know everything.  I also know that while I can quickly get smart on your business, I will never be the expert that you are.  That said, I am an expert on applied innovation, what works, when, and why, and how things can and can’t be shaped and adapted to work for you.  I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room.  I want to be in a room of smart people.
4. Humor – This is hard work.  But it should also be fun.  And we definitely need to laugh.

Let’s be honest, though, MileZero has two things in common with that world: high standards and … PowerPoint.

1. High standard of work – I’ve worked in a big company and presented to loads of senior executives.  As a result, I know that as much as they like pretty pictures and inspirational videos, they will only be convinced by numbers, data, and well-reasoned recommendations.  Our work will be able to stand up to that level of scrutiny because it must stick.
2. PowerPoint – Michelangelo had marble, Picasso had paint, I have PPT.  I try to use it responsibly, but I do use it.

How do you work?  What can I expect? 

Collaboratively.

The most successful projects are ones in which we combine my client’s expertise in the industry, business, and organization with my expertise in innovation and change to create and implement something truly customized.

These projects are successful because my clients are part of the process and thus feel ownership of the work.  They understand what we’re doing and why, and we create a solution together.

I understand that organizations sometimes hire consultants as “flexible workers” to whom they can offload tasks or projects and eventually receive a polished report or PPT deck.  If that’s what you need, I’m happy to refer you to outstanding consultants who work that way.

Impact requires involvement.  That’s why we work together.

Why do organizations need you?  Can’t they do this on their own?

It’s been over 20 years since Clayton Christensen published The Innovator’s Dilemma.  Since then, hundreds of companies have started (and ended) innovation teams, thousands of books have been written, and millions of articles have been published.

Yet, the success rate for corporate innovation hasn’t changed.

That’s because it’s infinitely easier to read about something than to take consistent action to create change.  It’s easier because we all face the Tyranny of Now – the very real and rational pressure to do what must happen today. After all, they will be measured tomorrow.

My clients tell me that working with me creates a respite from the Tyranny of Now and space for them to think and create.  Even if it’s just for an hour, they’re able to stop reacting and start creating, envisioning what could be and what better looks like, and taking action to make it all happen.

If folks have more questions or want to learn more, what should they do? 

Easy!  Click on the “Schedule a Call” button below and book time for a 30-minute Get Acquainted Call.