Consumer Products Blog
FEI Europe 2011 – Culture Breeds Innovation
By Edd Brunner - Last updated: Monday, March 7, 2011
I’ve just got back from the Front end of Innovation 2011 in Berlin. It has been a really interesting few days, with some fascinating presentations. I’ve come away with two main thoughts:
You’ve got to Nurture Innovation
For me one of the overriding themes was the need for the right culture within an organisation, large or small, to allow and inspire innovation. And this doesn’t just apply to internal innovation – it is equally applicable to open innovation as well. Innovators need to feel free to come up with and share ideas, not be pressured into targets or to follow rigid processes and not be scared of having ‘bad’ ideas. Those ‘bad’ ideas can often spark the best ones! Without the right culture or vibe, people will simply not perform to the best of their imagination – would a novelist write a best seller when under pressure; was Mozart chained to a procedure when he composed his first overture?
That said, we can’t all sit around on bean bags all day, staring up at our sky painted ceilings and playing around! The shareholders won’t be too thrilled by that! There has got to be a balance between the free thinking and a process.
The innovation process we use with our clients embrace these points – the process is open, fun and incorporates input from different stakeholders, but has a framework which gives it structure and ensures that the whole idea space is covered. This approach has been used really successfully to create some fantastic products for our clients.
Open Innovation has to be Open
Open Innovation is here – we had some pretty big guns (GSK, Unilever, Henkel and P&G ) confirming this. They want the agility that comes with getting ideas from outside, and small guys with big ideas can use the power of the brands to make their idea really take off.
However, all parties are going to be naturally cautious, which is why the O is just as important as the I. The big boys don’t want to be taken for a ride, and equally others don’t want to be squashed by the behemoth multi-nationals. This will only be achieved by frank conversations upfront about IP, goals and desires. Unilever said they want to get this all out of the way first, before any talk of creativity!
This is sensible. There is no point wasting time, risking giving away too many secrets if the two (or more) parties will never be able to work together. By clearing the air up front and being truly open, the right atmosphere is created so the bright idea can be built upon and developed to completion.
Cambridge Consultants are an intermediary for Open Innovation, we can help you deliver a protectable solution fast if you can’t find it off the shelf. Before starting a project of course we get the contractual terms right, so that IP and progress is understood, and confidentiality has always been fundamental to our business. We wouldn’t have been around for 50 years with a reputation for discretion without it!
