232: How The Swiffer Story Won Billion $ Boardroom Approval

This week on Innovation Storytellers, I sit down with Robyn Bolton, Founder and Chief Navigator at MileZero, to uncover how one of the most successful household products almost never made it past the boardroom. Before launching her consultancy helping leaders of large companies use innovation to drive consistent growth, Robyn was part of the Procter and Gamble team that created and launched Swiffer, a product that changed how millions clean their homes and reshaped the way corporate innovation is judged.

Robyn takes us inside the high-stakes moments at P&G when the data said Swiffer would fail while real-world tests told a completely different story. She describes how passionate storytelling, courage, and evidence from the field ultimately won the day. In that pivotal boardroom, one leader even put his career on the line to ensure the product's launch, proving that innovation is as much about conviction as it is about numbers.

We also explore the cultural lessons from Swiffer's global rollout, including why the product thrived in the United States but struggled in Italy, where cleaning was seen as an act of devotion rather than efficiency. Robyn explains how understanding emotional and social context can make or break a global innovation. Her insights extend beyond consumer products to any leader trying to turn bold ideas into scalable reality.

In the final part of our conversation, Robyn reflects on her years working with Clay Christensen and why she continues to champion the "Jobs to Be Done" framework. She shares how innovators can use storytelling to connect with hearts and minds, and how companies can equip internal champions to advocate for change. This episode is a masterclass in balancing data with belief, logic with emotion, and vision with timing to bring truly transformative ideas to life.