Context

When Ford's CEO called for a more human-centered approach to innovation, Ford Pro responded by launching its first-ever Partner-Centered Innovation Lab, an initiative designed to deepen strategic collaboration with the company's most valuable commercial customers. While Ford had strong relationships with large fleet customers, its engagement remained transactional and product-centric. To stay ahead of evolving customer needs, Ford needed a new way to co-create solutions, services, and strategies directly with its most complex partners.

I was brought in to lead design strategy for the lab: conducting global research, facilitating executive alignment, and shaping the vision, operating model, and brand identity that would anchor the lab's launch.

Challenge

Ford Pro needed to shift from transactional engagement to true co-creation with commercial partners. The challenge wasn't just about launching a physical space—it was about establishing a repeatable model for innovation that could generate trust, unlock new opportunities, and deliver measurable business value. Leadership needed clarity on how the lab would operate, what success would look like, and how it would differentiate Ford Pro in the commercial vehicle space. This raised a central question:

How might we build a sustainable engagement model that embodies Ford's transformation—from vehicles to smart services—and forges stronger relationships with our commercial customers by addressing their needs holistically?

Outcome

In 8 months, we secured formal collaboration with top fleet partners, including Kiewit and Johnson Controls. The frameworks and experience model we created enabled the launch of Ford Pro's small business engagement model, which became the foundation for the next phase of customer-facing innovation.

Increased participation in co-creation sessions and follow-on workshops across Sales, Product, and Customer Success teams demonstrated that the lab wasn't just a space—it was a new way of working. The lab strengthened Ford's leadership narrative in the commercial vehicle space through human-centered design, positioning the company as a strategic partner, not just a product provider.

Approach

Laying the Foundations for a Partner-Centered Innovation Model

To launch a credible and differentiated innovation lab, we first had to define the strategic and emotional foundations that would guide everything from operations to executive buy-in.

We framed our work around a central question: How might we build a sustainable engagement model that embodies Ford's transformation—from vehicles to smart services—and forges stronger relationships with our commercial customers by addressing their needs holistically?

This question shaped our early research, values definition, and experience strategy. We needed to understand why a partner would want to co-create with Ford—not just transact. The resulting frameworks gave leadership a shared language to align investment, purpose, and differentiation.

Customer Motivation Archetypes
We mapped partner motivations across industries, from compliance-driven customers to innovation-seekers, to uncover unmet needs that Ford could uniquely address.

Vision, Mission, and Strategic Pillars
We aligned stakeholders around a shared purpose and operating philosophy to guide investment, staffing, and success metrics.

Experience Differentiators
We designed a branded experience model to reflect Ford's values across every touchpoint, drawing inspiration from hospitality, education, and premium retail.

Defining Success to Drive Strategic Focus

To ensure our innovation lab delivered measurable business value, I led the creation of a success metrics framework grounded in Ford Pro's strategic priorities. We transformed abstract goals into clear, cross-functional KPIs tied to trust, growth, innovation velocity, and customer collaboration. These metrics aligned stakeholders, shaped how we measured impact, and provided a shared language for evaluating initiatives—from pilot launches to enterprise-wide rollouts.

We used these measures not only to track progress, but to ask better questions, identify blind spots, and continuously evolve the lab's value to the business.

Creating Weekly Postcards to Build Executive Engagement

To keep our stakeholders engaged and aligned without overwhelming their schedules, we introduced a weekly "postcard"—a concise, visual summary of progress, priorities, and provocations.

This simple format helped us share momentum without needing a meeting, highlight quick wins and unresolved questions, and give executives and team leads a snapshot they could forward and discuss with others.

It became a trusted rhythm that allowed us to maintain visibility, show responsiveness to feedback, and reinforce shared ownership across Ford leadership.

Pivoting Under Pressure: Redesigning a Lab Experience in a Remote World

Just weeks after securing executive buy-in and a physical space for our Partner Innovation Lab, the COVID-19 pandemic forced our team into lockdown. With no in-person contact, we were suddenly challenged to reimagine the entire experience, from showroom walkthroughs to collaborative co-creation, as a fully digital engagement.

Leading through ambiguity, I rallied a cross-functional team around a shared purpose: to create a remote-first experience that didn't sacrifice trust, creativity, or impact. We rapidly prototyped and launched two flagship platforms, enabling Ford to continue showcasing innovation, co-creating with customers, and building relationships, even in uncertainty.

Digital Solution Studio
Transformed our physical showroom into a secure virtual platform for showcasing Ford's innovation roadmap, demos, and solutions. Included multi-user login experiences, downloadable content, and support for dealer engagement.

Custom Virtual Collaboration Spaces
Designed and launched a branded digital workshop environment using browser-based tools, allowing real-time co-creation, breakout sessions, and immediate feedback—all within weeks.

Strategic Levers

Foundation Before Execution

Investing time in strategic frameworks—customer archetypes, experience principles, and success metrics—gave leadership the confidence to commit and ensured every tactical decision laddered up to a shared vision.

Alignment as a Continuous Practice

Weekly postcards, cross-functional workshops, and transparent communication kept stakeholders engaged and prevented misalignment as priorities shifted.

Resilience Through Co-Creation

When the pandemic eliminated the physical lab, the team's ability to pivot came from shared ownership of the vision. We weren't protecting a space, we were protecting the relationships and trust we'd committed to building.

Digital Innovation Under Constraint

Rapid prototyping of virtual platforms proved that innovation doesn't require perfect conditions. The team's willingness to experiment, iterate, and ship quickly turned crisis into capability.

Executive Engagement Through Storytelling

Presenting regularly to Ford's CEO and senior leadership reinforced the strategic importance of human-centered design and positioned the lab as a differentiator in Ford Pro's commercial strategy.

Partner Trust as the Ultimate Metric

Securing collaboration with top-tier fleet partners validated that the lab model worked not because of the space, but because of the intentional, human-centered approach to engagement.