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The Innovation Lab Methodology
Turn ideas into businesses,
and businesses into action with the 8×48 innovation workflow
The Innovation Lab does not apply a single canvas or fixed sequence to every challenge. We first diagnose the current bottleneck, select the necessary workflows, and build customer and market evidence to move to the next decision. By connecting BM ZEN with our accumulated toolkits, worksheets, and AI execution tools, we turn ideas into concrete business proposals and execution outcomes.
8decision-making modules
48available workflows
DIAGNOSE → GROWFrom diagnosis to execution and growth
Decision workflow
More than a methodology that gives you the right answer,
a workflow that enables better decisions
We divide innovation challenges into eight decision-making areas and design each area as six specific workflows.
Innovation challenges fail not only because of a lack of ideas. They fail because goals are misaligned, assumptions are made about customers, solutions are built without validation, and revenue and execution are added as afterthoughts. The Innovation Lab Methodology divides innovation into eight decision-making areas and designs each area as six specific workflows.
Each workflow begins with a single question. It clarifies what to use as input, which activities to perform, and what outputs must remain before moving to the next stage. This makes it possible to manage progress and outcomes by the same standards across formats such as a one-off lecture, a 1–2-day workshop, or a multi-monthProject-Based Learning (PBL), team-based coaching, or execution-focused consulting, even when the delivery formats differ.
01
Brand Promise
As a business innovation research company and an execution partner to enterprises, we turn ideas into real businesses and real change.
02
BM ZEN Method
It is the central framework for viewing customers, value, propositions, revenue, resources, collaboration, and execution as one business model.
03
8×48 Transformation Workflow
M1–M8 form the operating map for eight areas of work, while W01–W48 define the actual decision questions and outputs.
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Toolkits & AI Apps
These tools support thinking, collaboration, research, validation, design, and execution in each workflow.
05
Offering
This service packages the framework into advisory, consulting, coaching, training, workshops, PBL, and certification courses tailored to each client challenge.
Tools do not come first. The decision that must be made now comes first. Once the necessary question is defined, we select the methodology and toolkit that fit it.
Methodology at a glance
See 8 modules and 48 workflows on one page
Follow the main progression from W01 to W48, the decision gates, and the learning and rework loops, and see the toolkits connected to each workflow.
Move left or right to view the full map.M boxes lead to module descriptions, and W cards lead to workflow details.Enlarge map ↗
How it works
Select workflows,
and loop back based on evidence
You do not complete all 48 in sequence. Design a flow suited to the current bottleneck and accumulate the evidence needed for the next decision.
Select the necessary workflows
Instead of completing all 48, design the flow required for the current decision.
Build evidence, not just outputs
Develop workshop outputs further with customer interviews, experiments, metrics, and execution data.
Decide whether to proceed or loop back
Use evidence to decide Go, Hold, Pivot, or No-Go, and return to the necessary stage.
A workflow is not a procedure that fixes the route; it is a map that makes the next decision more accurate.
M1—M8 Module Map
A decision map for innovation across eight modules
You can start anywhere, but each module produces clear outputs for moving to the next decision.
W01—W48 Explorer
Find the workflow you need now
Select a module to display only its six related workflows. Open each card to see the required inputs, activities, and representative tools.
Recommended routes
The route you need depends on the type of challenge
Recommended routes provide a guide for quickly finding a starting point. In practice, modules are added or skipped based on diagnostic results and the evidence available.
When identifying new business opportunities from scratch
M1 → M2 → M3 → M4 → M5 → M6 → M7 → M8
This is the full journey from exploration through approval and execution. It is suitable for corporate new business PBL, internal ventures, and innovation projects for key talent.
When an existing business has stalled
M1 → M3 → M4 → M6 → M7 → M8
This transformation route re-examines the current BM, why customers choose it, and its revenue and execution structures. Add M2 market re-exploration and M5 validation if needed.
When commercializing technology
M1 → M2 → M3 → M5 → M6 → M7 → M8
This technology commercialization route translates technical features into customer benefits and an addressable market, and establishes market evidence and business feasibility.
When advancing the business models of startups and companies receiving support
M1 → targeted workflows from M2–M6 as needed → M7 → M8
Instead of providing the same training to every team, use a preliminary diagnosis to identify each team's bottleneck, then assign different workflows and coaching as needed.
When embedding innovation capabilities in an organization
Training in a shared language → selective application to real challenges → team coaching → executive review → capability transfer
Go beyond knowing the methodology by applying it repeatedly to real company challenges, leaving shared decision criteria and execution habits within the organization.
Methodology into Offering
The same methodology is delivered differently depending on what you want to change
We design the eight modules and 48 workflows as a practical program tailored to the organization's challenge, timeframe, and mode of participation.
Change the business
Combine the necessary workflows around diagnosis, customer and market validation, value propositions, revenue structures, GTM, and execution roadmaps.
Business Model Transformation Partnership →Change the organization
Deliver M1–M8 as a PBL journey so that multiple teams can identify and validate opportunities using shared criteria, report to executives, and move into execution.
Corporate New Business Innovation Journey →Grow the ecosystem
Use preliminary diagnosis to identify each team's bottleneck and connect training, mentoring, coaching, acceleration, and performance management.
Startup and Technology Commercialization Growth Program →Develop people
Learn the core principles and tools of the 48 workflows and apply them to real challenges to develop expertise as business model specialists and internal coaches.
Business Model Academy · CBMP →Proof in practice
The value of a methodology is proven through real challenges, not explanations
Explore cases where it was applied in real decision-making situations, including customer interviews and insight synthesis, MVP design, financial simulations, and decision-maker approval.
Start with one decision
What you need now may not be all 48,
but a single workflow that changes your next decision.
Tell us the current position and bottleneck of your challenge. The Innovation Lab will work with you to design the necessary modules and workflows, application approach, and expected outputs.
ANSWER ENGINE
Frequently Asked Questions
Quickly explore The Innovation Lab’s role and methodology from the perspective of your challenge.
What is the 8×48 Innovation Workflow?
The 8×48 Innovation Workflow comprises 48 workflows across eight modules: direction alignment and diagnosis; environmental sensing and opportunity selection; customer and problem discovery; concept and value proposition; hypothesis and experiment validation; BM and ecosystem design; feasibility and investment decisions; and execution, learning, and growth.
Does every company need to complete all 48 workflows?
No. The necessary workflows are selected and combined according to the challenge's stage and bottleneck, the evidence available, and the decision point. The key is not to use many tools, but to secure the evidence needed for the next decision.
What outputs does applying the workflows produce?
It produces a shared, aligned definition of the challenge and success criteria, customer and market evidence, a value proposition and business model, experiment results, a feasibility decision, and an execution roadmap. It also builds a shared working language that enables the organization to make subsequent decisions repeatedly.