Revenue Cup Design artefacts
Pre-programme baseline questions
Three questions administered before week 1 begins. Repeated after week 4. The delta is your proof that the programme worked — and the testimonial data your case study needs.
How to use
Add these three questions to the end of the week 1 kick-off email. Same questions repeated in the week 4 pitch day follow-up email. Record the scores — baseline and final — in your case study framework. The delta is your outcome data.
1
Data confidence
Asked: Before week 1 · Repeated: After week 4
On a scale of 1–5, how confident are you that you could use a data tool — Power BI, a dashboard, or a report — to build a commercial argument for an idea you have right now?
1 — Not at all
2 — Slightly
3 — Somewhat
4 — Quite confident
5 — Very confident
What this measures: Power BI and data tool adoption — the primary skill gap the programme addresses. A delta of +1.5 or more is a strong outcome signal. Below +0.5 suggests the job aid in week 3 needs redesigning.
2
Idea surface belief
Asked: Before week 1 · Repeated: After week 4
On a scale of 1–5, how much do you believe that a good commercial idea from your team could realistically reach leadership and be acted on?
1 — Not at all
2 — Unlikely
3 — Possibly
4 — Probably
5 — Definitely
What this measures: Environment and motivation gap — whether people believe the channel now exists. This is the most important baseline question. If it doesn't shift, the programme changed knowledge but not belief. That means the sponsor's signal in week 1 wasn't strong enough.
3
Engagement motivation
Asked: Before week 1 only
What is the main reason you want to participate in the Revenue Cup? Choose the one that feels most honest.
I have an idea I've been sitting on and this is the chance to surface it
I want to learn how to use data tools better
My manager suggested I participate
I'm curious about the incubation prize
I'm not sure yet — I'm keeping an open mind
What this measures: Motivation profile of the cohort. If more than 30% select "my manager suggested I participate" — the sponsor brief needs strengthening before week 1. If most select "I have an idea I've been sitting on" — the environment design is working before the programme even starts.
Day-30 measurement — what to compare
Q1
Data confidence score — baseline vs. week 4. Target delta: +1.5
Q2
Idea surface belief — baseline vs. week 4. Target delta: +1.0
Q3
Motivation profile — used for cohort design, not delta measurement
6-week incubation arc
What happens to the winning team after pitch day. Six weeks. One business case ready for leadership investment decision. The incubation is the prize — not a trophy, not a certificate. A real pathway from idea to decision.
What to say on the call
"The winning team gets six weeks of structured support to develop their idea into a business case ready for a leadership investment decision. Week by week they go from a rough brief to a fully documented case — with a named sponsor and a named Keithan facilitating. At week 6 they present to whoever holds the budget."
Week 5
Insight to opportunity framing
Winning team + Keithan 90 min session
Structured facilitated session to reframe the pitch day idea as a commercial opportunity. Move from "here's an idea" to "here's a problem worth solving, here's who it affects, and here's how we know." Uses the same Cathy Moore action-map approach — what do we want people to do differently, not just know.
Output
A one-page opportunity brief — problem, audience, hypothesis, success criteria. Shared with sponsor before week 6.
Week 6
Data deep dive
Winning team Self-directed + Keithan async support
The winning team goes back into their data tool and builds the quantitative case for their opportunity. Using the same Power BI job aid from week 3 — now with a specific brief to answer rather than an open-ended challenge. Keithan reviews drafts asynchronously and gives one round of feedback.
Output
A data slide or dashboard showing the size of the opportunity — revenue potential, cost saving, or risk reduction — with a source for every number.
Week 7
Stakeholder mapping
Winning team + Sponsor 60 min session
Who needs to say yes for this to happen? Who might block it? What objections will they raise? A structured stakeholder map that identifies the key decision-makers, their likely position, and what each one needs to hear. The sponsor joins this session — they know the political landscape the team doesn't.
Output
A stakeholder map — names, positions, objections, and the communication approach for each person.
Week 8
Business case draft
Winning team Self-directed + Keithan async review
The team writes the first draft of the full business case using a structured template — problem, opportunity, proposed solution, investment required, expected return, risks, and next steps. Keithan reviews and gives structured feedback using the pyramid principle — conclusion first, then evidence, then detail.
Output
First draft business case — 3–5 pages or equivalent slide deck. Ready for sponsor review.
Week 9
Sponsor review and refinement
Winning team + Sponsor + Keithan 60 min session
The sponsor reviews the draft business case and gives structured feedback — what will fly with leadership, what needs strengthening, what to leave out. Keithan facilitates the session to ensure the feedback is actionable rather than directional. Team refines based on the session.
Output
Revised business case — ready for the final presentation. Sponsor has pre-read and pre-agreed the recommendation.
Week 10
Leadership investment presentation
Winning team + Leadership 30 min formal presentation
The winning team presents their business case to the leadership panel who holds the budget and authority to act. Not a pitch day — a formal investment decision session. The case has been reviewed by the sponsor and refined over six weeks. The team is ready. The decision-maker has been pre-briefed. This is the moment the Revenue Cup was designed for.
Outcome
A decision — yes, no, or proceed to further scoping. Whatever the outcome, the team has a board-level conversation that would not have happened without the Revenue Cup.
Why this design matters
The incubation is the proof that the environment changed.
A programme that produces a pitch is an event. A programme that produces a leadership investment decision is a system change. The six-week incubation arc is what separates the Revenue Cup from every other innovation challenge — it guarantees that the best idea gets a real hearing, not just a certificate and a handshake.
Manager brief
What the manager needs to know, do, and say across the four weeks. Without this, team participation varies randomly based on which managers are engaged and which are not. With it, every team gets the same environmental signal.
The most important design decision in the Revenue Cup is not the scoreboard. It is whether the manager of each participating team signals — clearly, specifically, and more than once — that this matters and that they are watching. Teams whose managers do this submit stronger briefs, participate more actively in peer voting, and are more likely to reach the pitch day.
Manager passport — Revenue Cup
For managers only
Your role in the Revenue Cup
You are not a judge. You are not a facilitator. Your role is to signal that this programme matters and to remove the obstacles that stop your team from participating fully.
You will be asked to do three specific things across four weeks. Each takes less than 15 minutes. All three are essential.
Your team's submission quality is directly correlated with how clearly you signal that you read and valued what they submitted. Even one sentence of specific feedback in a team meeting changes participation.
What you should not do
Do not tell your team which idea to submit or what data to use. The programme surfaces what they already know — your job is to open the channel, not to direct the content.
Do not make participation feel mandatory through pressure. Make it feel worthwhile through genuine interest. There is a significant difference between "you should do this" and "I'm genuinely curious what you'll come up with."
Do not skip the week 3 check-in. It is the moment most likely to determine whether your team submits a strong data-backed brief or a weak one.
Three touchpoints — what to do and when
Week 1 — Day 1
Launch signal — say this in your next team meeting
"We're running the Revenue Cup over the next four weeks. I want you to treat the time you put into this as real work — not extra work. The ideas I've seen from this team in day-to-day conversations are genuinely good. This is the programme that gives them somewhere to go. I'm going to be reading every submission personally."

That last sentence is the most important one. Say it and mean it.
Week 3 — Day 15
Mid-point check-in — one conversation with each team member
Ask each person one question in a 1:1 or informal setting: "What data did you use to back up your idea — and did you need anything from me to get access to it?" This does two things. It signals you've read their brief. It removes the most common week 3 barrier — people who can't find the right data and give up quietly rather than asking for help.
Week 4 — Day 22
Pre-pitch day signal — acknowledge effort publicly
In your team meeting before pitch day: "I've read all the submissions. I want to say publicly that the quality of thinking in this team is genuinely impressive. Regardless of who wins, what you've produced over four weeks is the kind of work that should be visible to leadership — and it will be."

This is especially important for teams who won't win. It keeps them engaged and reduces the post-programme drop-off in morale.
How to handle the four most common objections from your team
💬 "I don't have time for this on top of everything else."
Don't defend the programme. Acknowledge the pressure. "I know. The workload is real and I'm not pretending otherwise. What I can tell you is that the time you put into this is time I'm counting as part of your core work this month — not something extra. If something needs to move to make space, come and talk to me about it."
💬 "My ideas never go anywhere anyway. What's different this time?"
This is the most important objection to handle well. "That frustration is fair and I've heard it before. What's different this time is that there's a structured pathway — the winning idea goes in front of [name the senior sponsor] with a six-week business case development process behind it. That's not the same as dropping an idea into a suggestion box. I can't guarantee yours will win but I can guarantee it will be read and evaluated properly."
💬 "I don't know how to use Power BI."
Don't send them to training. "You don't need to be a Power BI expert. In week 3 there's a one-page job aid that shows exactly which three views to use to build the commercial argument. It takes about 20 minutes. If you get stuck, come to me or ask Keithan directly — that's what the office hours in week 3 are for."
💬 "What if my idea isn't good enough?"
Reframe what good enough means. "The scoreboard measures four things — not just whether the idea is revolutionary. An idea that's well-anchored to real work, backed by data, and clearly written will score well even if it's incremental. Some of the most valuable commercial insights are obvious in hindsight. Submit what you have and let the process refine it."