Mikkel Marius Winther is interested in the way the Internet is changing the way we communicate and the consequences it has on society and everyday life. He loves Twitter, Red Bull and writing about himself in the third person.
Traditionally innovation has been about a few bright people solving a problem or developing a new product. Innovation used to be about control and about predicting the future. In a world of increasing complexity and connectivity this is no longer possible. Consumers’ tastes change faster than ever, new technologies emerge at an increasing pace rendering our R&D efforts obsolete and the Internet and social media foster new forms of organizations allowing communication and cooperation between increasingly large groups of people bringing us closer to the idea of a hive mind against which our traditional structures simply cannot compete.
Experience has shown us that opening up instead of closing down can provide real value with relatively small investments. Starbucks has gotten 80,000 ideas so far from their customers on MyStarbucksIdea, Dell got the idea to sell laptops with the Linux operating system from their IdeaStorm website, 25% of all new products from Proctor & Gamble come from InnoCentive, a website where companies post challenges and anyone can submit solutions. And there are many other examples of companies using Open Innovation to solve problems or generate new products or ideas.
Open Innovation is about bringing a group of people with a common goal together to collaborate. The Internet enables us to work together in larger groups than ever before and this is one of the reasons Open Innovation has become popular over the last few years. The sheer number of collaborators generating ideas can be a reason to use Open Innovation. Imagine the number of workshops and focus groups Starbucks would need to host to generate 80,000 ideas!
Another advantage of Open Innovation over Closed Innovation is that different people approach problems with different perspectives. Inviting all members of an organization to take part in the innovation process will lead to different results than simply asking management or the R&D department. And innovating with your organization’s partners, customers or competitors will almost certainly bring fresh perspectives compared to only innovating internally.
