#23 How to sell 4-hour Sprints internally
Introducing new ways of working can be tough, especially in organizations where priorities compete, calendars are full, and decision-making is slow. But with the 4-hour sprint model, you can demonstrate quick, tangible wins that make it easier to gain buy-in and scale impactful change.
Teams that adopt this approach report major benefits:
Prototypes and customer insights delivered in days, not weeks.
Stronger alignment across cross-functional teams.
Early evidence on program viability
Accelerated delivery timelines—up to 75% faster.
Unfortunately, many internal champions struggle to sell this approach because they aim too big, too soon, or fail to show immediate results.
Hesitation without a clear ROI
The biggest hurdle to gaining internal buy-in is that stakeholders want proof before committing resources. Here are other common challenges:
Overloaded teams: Stakeholders are hesitant to dedicate time when everyone is already stretched thin.
Unclear ROI: Without early evidence, leadership may not see the value in experimenting with new processes.
Skepticism: Teams may question whether this approach will actually solve their problems.
Resistance to change: People prefer to stick with what they know, even if it’s not working.
Scale hesitation: Leaders may worry about whether new methods are scalable across the organization.
The good news? A 4-hour weekly sprint makes it easy to overcome these challenges by reducing friction, creating quick wins, and building excitement.
THE 4-HOUR SPRINT
Inspired by Google Ventures
The idea of sprints isn’t new—Google Ventures popularized it as a 5-day process to go from problem definition to tested customer ideas. While effective, a 5-day sprint can be intense, resource-heavy, and hard to sell internally.
That’s why I favor the 4-hour weekly sprint cadence—a practical, low-commitment approach that fits seamlessly into busy team schedules. It’s perfect for internal champions who want to experiment with minimal disruption and prove the value of this way of working.
5 Steps to sell the sprint approach internally.
1) Craft a quick value prop
Position the 4-hour sprint as a low-risk, high-reward experiment. Emphasize the minimal time investment (4 hours for one week to start) and the potential for early wins
Example: In a recent sprint with a large energy company, we positioned this as a way to get early evidence on a product direction to increase the chance of funding in the next budget cycle
2) Pitch it to many team leads and execs
Timing is everything. Finding teams that are available to jump in is critical. Write a short paragraph and send it in a Teams or Slack message to see who bites.
Tip: Don’t overdo the pitch. Keep it simple and gauge interest from those with immediate needs. Measure your conversion rates.
Example: 20% conversion rate: In a recent internal sales effort. Out of 10 internal pitches, 5 teams expressed interest, 3 committed, and 2 completed their first sprint—all within two weeks.
3) Scope down to a narrow problem to solve
Once the team has committed time, they may want to tackle every problem under the sun. Resist the temptation! Narrow the focus to one specific, actionable problem that will deliver a quick win for both the team and your initiative.
Example: For a manufacturing client, instead of addressing the full end-to-end new product introduction, we focused on one moment: generating a risk analysis.
4) Run the first sprint yourself
Run the first sprint yourself to reduce costs, increase speed and work out the kinks. Focus on proving the value before worrying about scaling the approach. This will strengthen your pitch when you ask for resources or budget later.
5) Measure and share the quick win
Track tangible results, such as faster delivery timelines, stakeholder engagement, or customer feedback. Use this evidence to escalate the approach to leadership and expand its use.
Example: In one program at a large organization, we turned 10 weeks of stalled time into the launch of a new product feature in just 7 days. We shared this data in VP+ meetings to secure funding for an org-wide rollout.
Whenever you are ready, there are 4 ways my team and I can help your organization:
Sprints: Get proof an idea will work (or not) in days or weeks. Not months or years
Coaching & Training: Equip your workforce to build more customer-focused solutions
All Hands Workshops: Turn your All Hands meetings + conferences into immediate results
Ways of Working: Launch behavior change interventions before investing significant resources