BQF Innovation Blog » open

Crowdsourcing – In Search of Beautiful Minds

Paul Sloane — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:17:58 +0000

Companies that want innovative and imaginative new ideas are increasingly working with outside scientists or even students says Carly Chynoweth in this article from the Sunday Times.

Builder’s Breakfast crisps, Olay Regenerist skin cream and Red Lake gold mine in Canada have one thing in common: they are all based on ideas developed by outsiders. A trainee midwife came up with the crisp flavour in response to a competition held by Walkers; the second combines research from French company Sederma and Procter & Gamble and Goldcorp found gold at four out of five sites suggested by winning respondents to its online competition.

I am interviewed in the article as is Rajesh Chandy, academic director of the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, and Miles Eddowes, associate director of open innovation at food group Kraft.

Paul Sloane

A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing

Paul Sloane — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:28:33 +0000

We had a packed meeting of the BQF Innovation Unit today at which three authors who contributed to the new book, A Guide to Innovation and Crowdsourcing, spoke on the topic. All delegates received a copy of the book.

I explained the concepts and showed the following sites as examples of OI or Crowdsourcing in action

Reckitt Benckiser Idealink

Innocentive

Threadless

Naming Force

David Simoes-Brown of 100% Open described case studies of companies he had worked with including Proctor and Gamble, Orange and Cancer Research. He described the success rate for new ideas turning into implemented innovations at about 1 in 100. He advised companies starting out with potential partners to begin with a conversation about business rather than a conversation about innovation.

Andrew Gaule from H-I Network showed the range of options for bringing the result of OI to market with examples of Spinouts, Incubators and Corporate Venturing. He also examined corporate stress points with OI.

If you want more then please get hold of the book which contains the chapters by these and other eminent experts and practitioners of Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing.

Paul Sloane

The Inexorable Rise of Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing

Paul Sloane — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:55:17 +0000

Imagine that you are planning a big surprise party. You want it to be entertaining, spectacular, memorable and different. You could plan and project manage every element of the party yourself: the theme, venue, music, food, drink, entertainment, games, diversions etc. Or you could involve a number of people to help you with their ideas and their skills. One person could manage all aspects of the venue, someone else could design special decorations, another person could put together a music mix and so on. If you do it all yourself then you are in complete control, you have sole responsibility and you can keep the whole thing a surprise but you have to remember to do everything and it is only as good as your ideas. If you bring in a group of friends and experts to help then you can harness their imaginations; you can bounce ideas off each other. You have to delegate tasks which involves collaboration, supervision, letting go and an element of risk. Keeping the whole thing a surprise is more difficult but can be done. The choice between doing it all yourself and doing it with a group is the choice between a closed and an open model.

There was a time not very long ago when companies primarily used closed models for all their new product development. They focused on their own resources – research, development, marketing, etc – to bring new products to market. This model gave them control and seemed to work well.

Nowadays most CEOs see collaboration as key to their success with innovation. They know they cannot achieve their innovation targets using internal resources alone. So they look outside for other organizations to partner with. A good example is Mercedes and Swatch who collaborated to produce the Smart car. When Mercedes wanted to produce an innovative town car they did not choose another automobile manufacturer, they partnered with a fashion watch maker. Each brought different skills and experiences to the team.

The next step beyond collaboration is open innovation; a concept developed by Henry Chesbrough to describe the process of harnessing external resources to work alongside your team to develop new products and services. This is something that many leading companies, including Proctor and Gamble, IBM, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, BMW, Nokia and Kimberly-Clark have focused on as a way of driving innovation. Open innovation replaces the vertical integration of processes within one company with a network of collaborators working on innovation projects. Using outsiders can speed up processes, reduce costs, introduce more innovative ideas and reduce time to market.

Kimberly-Clark reduced the time is takes to bring out new products by 30 percent through open innovation. It launched Sunsignals in just six months by collaborating with a smaller company, SunHealth Solutions. Sunsignals is a self-adhesive sensor that changes color when the wearer is in danger of burning in the sun. Proctor and Gamble aims to source 50 percent of its innovations from outside using open innovation. Early results include new products such as Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Pringles Prints.

Crowdsourcing is an extrapolation of Open Innovation in which you throw out a challenge to a group of people that you may or may not know and solicit their ideas and solutions for your issue. Many web-based companies specialise in different crowdsourcing fields. So if you want a name for a new brand of product you can get many suggestions by using the crowdsourcing site Naming Force. If you have a tough programming problem you could use Topcoder.com who will set the challenge for ace freelance programmers from around the world. Similarly if you have a difficult technical or scientific challenge you might use Innocentive or Nine Sigma.

There is a powerful surge towards open innovation and crowdsourcing. These concepts hold the enticing promise of turbo-charging your new product development.

Paul Sloane

Open Innovation Meeting

Paul Sloane — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:03:16 +0000

We had a lively meeting of the BQF Innovation Unit at which David Simoes-Brown of 100% Open was the main presenter. You can see his slides here. He gave detailed advice on how to start with Open Innovation and discussed case studies including Lego, Virgin, IBM and others. He showed a fascinating current example at Orange Mobile Volunteering. It is a crowdsourcing site where users are encouraged to suggest ways in which mobile technology could help charities or communities. You can put forward ideas, read other people’s ideas and vote on them. David develops one of the main themes of his talk, Ask Interesting Questions, on this blog post.

David is one of the contributors to the book, A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing, which I am editing and which is due for release in February 2011.

Paul Sloane

Three Imminent Innovation Events

Paul Sloane — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:55:04 +0000

There are three upcoming innovation events that you can take advantage of.

1. Gaining Competitive Advantage through Innovation Workshop.

To be held in London on Thursday Sept 16th. This is a one day workshop in which you practise and learn creativity and innovation methods. It will help you to develop new products and services.

2. Innovation Unit Meeting on Open Innovation.

A half day event in London on Tuesday 5th October. The Guest Speaker is David Simoes-Brown of 100% Open. This is an interactive meeting where we review and discuss best practice in Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing.

3. Master Class on Innovation in the Public Sector

This is a one day workshop on Wednesday 13th October in London. It will focus on the leadership, culture and processes for innovation with emphasis on government agencies and the public sector.

I hope to see you at one of these events.

Paul Sloane

Workshop on Open Innovation

Paul Sloane — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:41:46 +0000

The next meeting of the BQF Innovation Unit will take place on the morning of Tuesday 5th October in central London. It will focus on Open Innovation and it will be interative and instructive. It will be led by David Simoes-Brown of 100% Open, a consultancy that focuses on Open Innovation.

Topics include

Open Innovation Accelerator

Why open innovation can get you better ideas, faster, cheaper
Opportunities in crowdsourcing, corporate collaborations and customer co-innovation
Pitfalls in open innovation and how to avoid them
Collaboration mindsets – how to develop Business Empathy

The meeting is open to BQF members and to non-members. You can see more details and register here. I look forward to meeting you if you come.

Paul Sloane

Book Review – The Open Innovation Revolution

Paul Sloane — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:06:02 +0000

Stefan Lindegaard is recognised as a leading writer and thinker on innovation. In this book he takes on the hot topic of Open Innovation (OI) which he defines as bridging internal and external resources to make innovation happen. The early chapters are excellent. He clearly explains the need for OI and how to approach it. He argues that it is more important to get the right people in place than the right process in place. He shows how to identify and develop the people who drive OI. His sections on why CEOs do not get OI and how to overcome the roadblocks to OI are particularly cogent.

His style is very personal and directive with many first-person comments. There are various interviews and case studies in the book – some are excellent. I like the way he summarises the key takeaways in each chapter.

In the chapter on Radical Innovation he throws out a provocative statement – Radical Innovation is too difficult for most companies and they should play it safer. He then discusses the point and largely proves that it is true unless your business can meet the stringent guidelines that he develops.

In the later chapters he diverges from the main subject and covers topics such as knowing your personal values, managing time and polishing your personal brand. This is standard self-help stuff which really does not belong in this book. He returns towards the theme with a chapter on corporate business plan competitions which is packed with useful advice which applies to internal more than open innovation.

The book has many powerful examples, stories, tips and guidelines. Despite the diversions it stands as a valuable and practical addition to your innovation bookshelf.

Paul Sloane

Siemens report on Open Innovation

Paul Sloane — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:56:11 +0000

Siemens have published a detailed report on Open Innovation. It contains many interesting points including a report from Grant Thornton on the sources of ideas. Their survey revealed that the best sources of ideas were as follows as rated by percentage of respondents:

Customers 41%

Heads of Business Units 35%

Employees 33%

Internal R&D 33%

CEO 27%

Partners & Suppliers 26%

Sales 17%

Do you work with customers on a systematic basis as a source of innovation?

Paul Sloane

21 Great Ways to Innovate

Paul Sloane — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:52:07 +0000

How hard is it to innovate? Not once but over and over? How can you repeatedly implement great new products, processes or services? Continuous innovation is not easy and if you keep using the same method you will experience diminishing results. Try innovating how you innovate by employing some of these ideas.

1. Copy someone else’s idea. One of the best ways to innovate is to pinch an idea that works elsewhere and apply it in your business. Henry Ford saw the production line working in a meat packing plant and then applied to the automobile industry thereby dramatically reducing assembly times and costs.

2. Ask customers. If you simply ask your customers how you could improve your product or service they will give you plenty of ideas for incremental innovations. Typically they will ask for new features or that you make your product cheaper, faster, easier to use, available in different styles and colours etc. Listen to these requests carefully and choose the ones that will really pay back.

3. Observe customers. Do not just ask them, watch them. Try to see how customers use your products. Do they use them in new ways? This was what Levi Strauss saw when they found that customers ripped the jeans – so they brought a line of pre-ripped jeans. Heinz noticed that people stored their sauce jars upside down so they designed an upside down bottle.

4. Use difficulties and complaints. If customers have difficulties with any aspect of using your product or if they register complaints then you have a strong starting point for innovations. Make your product easier to use, eliminate the current inconveniences and introduce improvements that overcome the complaints.

5. Combine. Combine your product with something else to make something new. It works at all levels. Think of a suitcase with wheels, or a mobile phone with a camera or a flight with a massage.

6. Eliminate. What could you take out of your product or service to make it better? Dell eliminated the computer store, Amazon eliminated the bookstore, the Sony Walkman eliminated speakers and record functions.

7. Ask your staff. Challenge the people who work in the business to find new and better ways to do things and new and better ways to please customers. They are close to the action and can see opportunities for innovation. Often they just need encouragement to bring forward great ideas.

8. Plan. Include targets for new products and services in your business plan. Put it onto the balanced scorecard. Write innovation into everyone’s objectives. Measure it and it will happen.

9. Run brainstorms. Have regular brainstorm meetings where you generate a large quantity of new product ideas. Use diverse groups from different areas of the business and include a provocative outsider e.g. a customer or supplier.

10. Examine patents. Check through patents that apply in your field. Are there some that you could license? Are some expiring so that you can now use that method? Is there a different way of achieving the essential idea in a patent?

11. Collaborate. Work with another company who can take you to places you can’t go. Choose a partner with a similar philosophy but different skills. That is what Mercedes did with Swatch when they came up with the Smart car.

12. Minimize or Maximize. Take something that is standard in the industry and minimise or maximise it. Ryanair minimized price and customer service. Starbucks maximised price and customer experience. It is better to be different than to be better.

13. Run a contest. Ask members of the public to suggest great new product ideas. Offer a prize. Give people a clear focussed goal and they will surprise you with novel ideas. Good for innovation and PR.

14. Ask – What if? Do some lateral thinking by asking what if…..? Challenge every boundary and assumption that applies in your field. You and your group will come up with amazing ideas once the normal constraints are lifted.

15. Watch the competition. Do not slavishly follow the competition but watch them intelligently. The small guys are often the most innovative so see if you can adapt or license one of their ideas – or even buy the company!

16. Outsource. Subcontract your new product development challenge to a design company, a University, a start-up or a crowdsourcing site like Innocentive or Ninesigma.

17. Use Open Innovation. Big consumer products companies like Proctor and Gamble or Reckitt Benckiser encourage developers to bring novel products to them. They are flexible on IP protection and give a clear focus on what they are looking for. A large proportion of their new products now start life outside the company.

18. Adapt a Product to a New Use. Find an entirely different application for an existing product. De Beers produced industrial diamonds but found a new use for diamonds when they introduced the concept of engagement rings. It opened up a large new market for them.

19. Try Triz. Triz is a systematic method for solving problems. It can be applied in many fields but is particularly useful in engineering and product design. Triz gives you a toolbox of methods to solve contradictions e.g. how can we make this product run faster but with less power?

20. Go Back in Time. Look back at methods and services that were used in your sector years ago but have now fallen out of use. Can you bring one back in a new updated form? It has been said that Speed Dating is really a relaunch of a Victorian dance format where ladies had cards marked with appointments.

21. Use Social Networks. Follow trends and ask questions on groups like Twitter or Facebook. Ask what people want to see in future products or what the big new idea will be. Many early adopters are active on social network groups and will happily respond with suggestions.

The ways to innovate are legion. Try some approaches that are new to you in order to boost your innovation capability.

Paul Sloane

Open Innovation and Innocentive

Paul Sloane — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:27:25 +0000

We are now on the brink of a major evolution of open innovation according to an article by John Hagel and John Seely Brown in BusinessWeek. They describe the success of Innocentive, the first global Internet-based platform designed to help connect Seekers, those who had difficult research problems, with Solvers, those who came up with creative solutions to these problems.

Since 2001, more than 170,000 participants from over 175 different countries have registered as Solvers. More than 800 problems have been posted, and almost 400 solutions have been found. This represents almost a 50% success rate on problems that had stumped internal research and development staffs. Almost $20 million in awards have been posted, while almost $4 million in awards have been paid out to successful Solvers.

They conclude by asking what can we learn from Innocentive’s success?

1. Diversity enhances problem-solving

Research on problem-solving success rates clearly indicates that diversity increases the probability of coming up with a solution to challenging research problems. A surprisingly large portion of the solutions come from Solvers in very different disciplines.

2. Scale matters

Serendipity is most likely to occur when a large number of diverse participants are aggregated in ways that expose them to a broad range of challenging problems.

3. Governance is critical

Contrary to the popular view that open innovation is self-organizing and emergent, problem-solving platforms like InnoCentive’s are carefully structured to protect intellectual property and specify decision rights and reward distribution in advance.

4. Teams amplify the power of individuals

Even on a platform initially designed to support individual problem-solvers, teams began to form to increase the probability of success in challenging big problems.

5. Relationships trump transactions in successfully tackling a broader range of problems

As InnoCentive has begun to specify more explicitly the four levels of problem-solving, it realized that short-term transactions are effective in addressing only a limited set of well-defined problems. The broader and more diffuse a problem becomes, the more important it is to foster longer-term relationships among aspiring problem-solvers.

6. Learn from others in building open innovation platforms

Even though InnoCentive is a pioneer in deploying an open innovation platform, it is carefully studying efforts by other groups to support collaboration and learning from their efforts. Recent initiatives at InnoCentive have been inspired by social networking platforms, shared workspace providers, online discussion forum sponsors and even online gaming.

7. Open innovation has value within companies

While the practices and platforms designed to support open innovation initially were focused on reaching beyond the enterprise, these same practices and platforms have application within the enterprise as well. The company has developed a specific offering known as InnoCentive@Work that allows companies to post challenging research problems solely to its own employees. Again, it is difficult to specify in advance which individuals, teams or even disciplines are likely to generate successful solutions, so executives are finding that solutions often arise from unanticipated parts of the firm.

The Innocentive model is the basis for the new style of Open Innovation.

Paul Sloane