The Podcast
Why you should watch it ☝️
Your innovation team can be crushing it and still get killed by a single question: “What value are you delivering?” Michelle has lived that exact moment. In this episode, she talks about scaling Ulta’s digital innovation team from 0 people to 40 and coming to the realization that they didn’t focus enough on explaining the value throughout the org, early on.
The punchline is uncomfortable and useful: internal PR is not optional for innovation teams. She’s blunt that you cannot “tell one person” and expect the story to cascade. If you do not run internal PR like a process, the org fills in the blanks for you, usually with “cool kids over there” energy and zero trust.
You also get a tactical move most teams only learn too late: acquisitions as an acquihire. Ulta bought capabilities they couldn’t hire for fast enough (AI, AR, computer vision), then later had to “share the wealth” by embedding that talent back into the enterprise so innovation didn’t become a shadow IT org.
Watch for these 4 moments
The “value gap” problem: growth (4 to 40) creates scrutiny fast. If you cannot quantify value, the org assumes you are a cost center.
How to move fast without getting shut down: she explains the risk-reward partnership with Legal and IT Security Risk, and why building those bridges earlier matters.
The “peel it off” rule: incubate too long and you are stuck supporting everything forever. Peel work and people back into the business sooner.
The playbook for pitching an innovation team: tie it to business objectives, start small, keep enough distance to operate differently.
The 60-second scorecard (use this while you watch)
Answer yes or no. If you get 2 “no’s,” your team is one reorg away from pain.
Value story: Can we say what value we create in one sentence, with numbers attached?
Internal PR: Do we have a repeatable way to broadcast wins and learning across the org, weekly?
Governance bridge: Are Legal and Security partners early, or only when we need approval?
Talent strategy: Do we know when to hire, borrow, or acquihire to get critical capability fast?
Exit path: Do we have a plan to “peel off” what works so innovation does not turn into permanent delivery?
Here’s a teaser…
Where to find Michelle Pacynski 👇
Find Michelle on Linkedin
What You Missed on Sunday
Here’s what we covered in Sunday’s newsletter edition…
People Love Arguing About Innovation
Innovation is (and has been for decades) a hot-button topic in the world of business. Throw that word on the table and you’re likely to incite anything from a healthy debate to an all-out riot. Everyone has their own perspective on what an org can or should do when it comes to “innovation.” And those (mostly healthy) debates are made even more inflammatory by the fact that if you ask 10 people what “innovation” means to them…you’ll get 12 different answers.
The reality is we’re all fighting the good fight. And regardless of which you think is more fun to execute, the various forms and focal points of innovation have different use cases depending on the needs. This week, I break down how to align your innovation levers to the metrics that you are aiming to move.
Here’s what you’ll find:
This Week’s Article: People Love Arguing About Innovation
Share This: The Metric-to-Innovation Map
Catch our previous podcast episode:
How did this edition land for you?
