RESULTS = function (SOMETHINGS), here are few SOMETHINGS for an Open Innovation Seeker

The more we participate in the challenge definition exercises for our clients, the more we learn about what works and what could be improved.

In our endeavor to share the learning on how the best results could be achieved for an open innovation or co-creation challenge, below is the checklist cum scorecard for innovation seeker.

Checklist for an open innovation seeker Yes = 1 No = 0 1. Did more than two individuals, not reporting to each other, have a say in formulating your innovation challenge? 2. Did seeker team discuss what would be their plan of action if they end up getting what they are requesting from the solvers? (Doing this upfront can seriously alter how you go about executing the solution seeking) 3. Is your reward (monetary, non monetary or both) proportionate in some way to effort required by solvers? 4. Does your promotion campaign for current challenge leverage the positive memories of previous challenge run by your enterprise? 5. Does your challenge clearly mention the "must meet" expectations and the "solution evaluation criteria"? 6. Do you have a plan for monitoring progress of your challenge and promoting it accordingly? 7. Have you given a thought around NOT making challenge duration too short (that you can't reach out to right solvers) or too long (that solvers postpone solving it)? 8. Is your challenge title to the point and convey what you are expecting in very direct words? 9. Does your solver composition plan for a given challenge include solver diversity with respect to skill set, age group and geo? 10. Do you have upfront time commitment from innovation sponsor & designated reviewers for evaluating the outcome? 11. Did you test how a typical solver might perceive your challenge brief? (Get your challenge reviewed by at least 2 independent reviewers, who have no clue whatsoever on what you are after before reading the brief) 12. Is your innovation seeker team prepared to tolerate people and ideas "worse than theirs", "as good as theirs" and "better than theirs"? 13. Open innovation will throw some bad ideas at you, is your innovation seeker team ready to trash those ideas without creating an opinion of any sort? 14. Has your innovation seeker team gone past "not invented here" mind block and embracing "proudly found elsewhere" culture? 15. Is your innovation seeker team agreeable that they may not always receive exact blue print of a solution and they might have to take the ideas received to the next level? 16. Is your innovation seeker team committed to NOT use any ideas or solution received without compensating and acknowledging the idea or solution submitter? Total

We leave it to you to interpret your score, just in case you ask us our opinion, it would be as follows.

Score 13-16 You are doing great
Score 9-12 Good going, scope for improvement
Score 1-8 Must improve the score

More than getting you a score, this check list helps you initiate the thought process that could address some of the essentials around seeking a solution in an open innovation way, thereby increasing the probability of success.

If you have a suggestion on additional points for the above list, then please feel free to send it across to us at contact@ideaken.com

Why won’t Joe solve my problem?

You might assign the problem to someone, but chances of you asking Joe is real slim.

You may have estimated the effort this solution might require, some of that already used up, but you may not know when you will get a solution or if you will get a solution.  You have a bad problem in hand, but worse is Joe who has a solution for your problem won’t solve it for you.

Here is why - Joe works for a different division!  Joe won’t solve it for you because you won’t ask him, and sure enough Joe won’t get to know that you have such a problem.

Is it possible to find how much an elastic band will stretch without actually stretching it?  Probably yes, a good guess could get you close enough.

Is it possible to find out by how much harder an employee can work for you? May be yes, at least you would know the limitations & boundaries.

But is it possible to find out what your people can solve for you in addition to the work you pay them for? Bit tough, may be you can’t.

In an attempt to leverage this untapped potential - enterprises are now creating a two way specialized pipe within the enterprise, for example a pipe for collaborative innovation. You broadcast your problem to all including Joe via this pipe. All, including Joe tune into this pipe for the challenges the enterprise is seeking solutions for.

Joe is happy to share the solution, provided someone asks for it, a reward of fully paid two nights vacation only makes him happier! 

So is this the end of all innovation challenges enterprise face? maybe not. But if Joe exists somewhere out there, then you will surely not miss out on Joe’s solution.

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ideaken enables enterprises when they need to collaborate to innovate, with employees, customers, research vendors, academia or with global pool of talent.