Innovation is the dynamic process of developing new or disruptive products, methods, or services. It doesn’t occur by accident or in a vacuum. Instead, innovation is guided by leaders who understand its demands and complexities, and are willing to share this knowledge with others. Innovation leaders share specific traits that naturally suit them to this role. These leaders are:...
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The biggest challenge with open innovation (OI) is implementing a structure for success. Ezassi has done just that, providing a powerful, industry-leading platform that outperforms the competition....
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Intellectual Property (IP) Protection is the biggest obstacle to an effective, sustained open innovation initiative. IP protection is complicated because both the company and potential contributors have developed concepts and systems, and sharing them brings risks unless tools are in place to protect it. The challenge is to balance these competing IP needs to assure a continual flow of quality submissions. Ezassi has IP protection built into our robust Idea & Open Innovation Management Solution, allowing organizations to confidently maximize the benefits of an OI system. The Need for IP Protection for Open Innovation Intellectual Property protection is necessary to Open Innovation for three reasons: Trust. Open Innovation requires the development of a symbiotic relationship between the Corporation and its contributors. For this to occur, there must be trust between the parties that their IP will not be exploited by the other. An effective IP protection establishes the trust environment. Reputation. Companies must have...
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Open Innovation is grounded in the belief that great ideas can come from any source and an organization’s internal expertise will transform those ideas into market value. The challenge comes when an organization chooses to shift from a closed innovation system to an open one. The decision to make this change will not be successful unless it is accompanied by a corresponding adjustment in corporate culture. The Cultural Shift When we discuss a corporation’s culture, we are in essence referring to its personality. It is rooted in shared values, attitudes and traditions that its leaders and employees believe in. As a result, corporate culture directs how its people behave toward each other and those outside the company. For long-term business success, this culture must align with corporate goals, strategies, and vision. Although each company is different, most have a traditional corporate culture that includes the belief that all innovation is internally driven. An...
Read More"Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology." //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_innovation R&D Is No Longer a Barrier to Entry or Strong Strategic Advantage Traditionally, innovation was a closely guarded secret. R&D teams hid away in secrecy innovating, discovering, and releasing the next generation of products. Think of IBM, Bell Labs, DuPont and other companies where R&D was a valuable strategic asset. Traditional Companies Are Moving Toward Open Innovation According to the MIT Sloan Management review "Companies are increasingly rethinking the fundamental ways in which they generate ideas and bring them to market — harnessing external ideas while leveraging their in-house R&D outside their current operations." //sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-era-of-open-innovation/ Harvesting, managing and sorting through 1,000s of ideas to find the diamonds in the rough is a daunting process. Large organizations further complicate this process with...
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