The trick isn’t to convince the CEO of a conglomerate to become an edgy thrillseeker. Instead, the job of the internal innovator is to communicate a bigger picture to leadership in a way that acknowledges their command over the present and shows them the path ahead. “The management of your company may be very good at their business without understanding innovative ideas created by new generations,” Fujino says. “You need to help them understand the future.” //

Honda’s then-CEO Takeo Fukui gave the HondaJet the commercial green light after intense deliberation. But it wasn’t the 20 years of research, the substantial investment or even the public accolades for the HondaJet prototype that convinced him.

It was the fact that Fujino successfully planted the idea that the HondaJet was a natural, logical and necessary part of Honda’s portfolio. And telling that story took a lot of groundwork and advocacy. “It took years to reach the CEO, and every time I spoke with him I took the opportunity to raise the subject,” Fujino said in a previous interview.

That approach worked so well that, as Fujino remembers it, “He spoke as if he were convincing himself. ‘Honda is a mobility company. We should pursue the future through the HondaJet.’”