Brilliant ideas rarely fail because of a problem with the underlying technology. More often, they fail because people don’t understand them. In the public sector, we’ve seen promising innovations stall simply because they weren’t explained in terms that mattered to decision‑makers and end‑users.

At PUBLIC, our work delivering innovation learning programmes has shown us that communication can be the force that turns overlooked concepts into critical capabilities. One story, that of a Defence data analyst whose tool nearly went unnoticed, illustrates how four simple shifts in communication can unlock adoption at scale.

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Meet Arnie

When Arnie Delstanche, a Senior Data Analyst at DSTL, built a reusable open‑source data pipeline, it should have been a game‑changer. The tool cut reporting time from hours to minutes, removing a major bottleneck in military analysis. Yet despite its technical strength, the pipeline struggled to gain traction.

Arnie’s challenge wasn’t the code. It was the story. Without a way to explain the tool’s value to leaders, managers, and users, it remained a side project. Through PUBLIC’s Innovation Learning Programme, he discovered that the difference between obscurity and adoption lay not in more technical detail, but in how he communicated it.

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The Four Communication Shifts

From our work across government, we’ve found that adoption rests on four shifts in communication. Arnie used each to move his pipeline from a side project to an award‑winning solution used across Defence:
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      1. Start with why

     2. Know your audience’s story

     3. Show, don’t tell

     4. Keep the conversation going
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Shift  1: Start with why

Arnie’s first instinct was to explain what his pipeline did: the code, the logic, the efficiency gains. Leading with the “what” left people unmoved. Stakeholders nodded politely, then moved on.

He flipped the order. Instead of beginning with process, he led with purpose. For analysts, the “why” was immediate – less time on manual reporting, more time for real analysis. For senior leaders, the “why” was strategic – faster, more reliable insight meant faster decisions in critical operations.

Once purpose came first, the conversation changed. The tool stopped sounding like a technical project and became a way to save time, reduce errors, and strengthen Defence decision‑making.
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Shift  2: Know your audience’s story

Even with a sharper “why”, Arnie discovered that not all audiences cared about the same story. Senior civil servants wanted to see alignment with strategic priorities. Programme managers asked whether the pipeline would integrate with existing systems and assurances. Analysts on the ground wanted proof it would actually save them time.

Arnie mapped these perspectives. He spoke to stakeholders at every level, asking a simple question: “What would make this valuable to you?” By tuning his language to their goals and vocabulary, he moved from pitching a product to telling their story back to them.

The result was credibility. Leaders saw strategic value. Managers saw feasibility. Analysts saw relief from repetitive work. Speaking their language turned sceptics into supporters.
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Shift 3: Show, don’t tell

Telling people the pipeline was efficient wasn’t enough. Audiences needed to see it solve their problems.

Arnie built case studies that showed exactly how the tool cut hours into minutes. He didn’t just describe features; he put the pipeline into messy, real‑world workflows. He invited teams to imagine their own use: once people could envision their team using the tool, they were in.

That shift – from telling to showing – made the difference. Instead of hearing about abstract efficiency, stakeholders felt the impact. Curiosity turned into conviction.
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Shift 4: Keep the conversation going‍

Initial interest is only half the battle. Adoption demands momentum.

Arnie treated communication as an ongoing dialogue. He identified and engaged stakeholders across what we call the Three Levels of Engagement: technical peers, programme leadership, and senior decision‑makers. He stayed in touch with early champions, shared updates, and built a network around the pipeline. Each conversation gave people a reason to act: to try the tool, recommend it, or bring it into new contexts.

Momentum spread. What began as a small trial moved to larger deployments, including a 6,000‑troop overseas exercise with 20 analysts. By keeping the story alive, Arnie turned colleagues into champions and embedded the tool at scale. The pipeline now exemplifies best practice for conducting data-driven projects within Defence, and his work earned the Civil Service Rising Star Award.

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Evidence beyond one story

Arnie’s success is not an outlier. Across our Innovation Learning Programmes, hundreds of Defence specialists have applied the same communication shifts with measurable impact. The results are striking: confidence in pitching more than tripled, storytelling skills rose sharply, and by the end of the programme every participant could share their own journey with conviction.

The pattern is clear. When people learn to frame their technical work as a story, adoption follows – and the effects ripple across programmes, portfolios, and missions.

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From story to strategy

Arnie’s journey, and the results across our programmes, highlight a simple truth: innovation doesn’t succeed on technical merit alone. It succeeds when its value is communicated in ways that resonate with the people who must fund, authorise, and use it.

In Defence, that meant a data pipeline moving from a side project to an award‑winning capability trusted by more than 100 professionals. In other sectors, it might be a new digital service, a breakthrough in AI, or a smarter way of working. The principle is the same: when complex ideas are translated into stories people understand, they gain traction.

The future advantage will belong not only to those who build the best technology, but to those who communicate its impact with clarity, confidence, and relevance.