The "Great Ideation" amid the "Great Restructuring": How can you bring open innovation to the future of work?

Friday: Mindfulness by Miles FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Happy Friday, everyone! We hope you’re having a great day. Let’s focus on one of the events we conducted regarding the future of work for today’s article. In February 2021, we held a webinar to talk about bringing open innovation to the world of work. Here, I spoke with some industry leaders from consulting companies Open Assembly and Deloitte Pixel. You may listen to the recording and view the transcript of our discussion here. We also encourage you to keep reading below. We’re sharing a few key points to help you experience the positive impacts of open innovation as you move forward into the future world of work. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

The "Great Ideation" amid the "Great Restructuring": How can you bring open innovation to the future of work? ANNOUNCEMENT: Watch out for Consulting Magazine’s webinar titled: “Engaging Technology to Future-Proof Your Workforce” Thursday, August 11, 2022 | 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET In this event, Miles Everson will talk about how strategic utilization of technology can give your organization an edge in recruiting, retaining, and maximizing your company’s talents. He, together with some of the industry’s leading minds, will also discuss the lessons you can learn from the last economic disruption, as well as how and why technology plays an increasingly critical role in attracting, retaining, and enhancing the skills of today’s workforce. Overall, this webinar will highlight why purpose-built technology for professional services must play a lead role in a competitive business’ tech stack. This will enable firms to attract and keep top talent, and foster a thriving business. Click here to register for the event.   Mindfulness by Miles Have you heard about Open Innovation? This is a term used to promote an information age mindset that contradicts the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. Basically, open innovation is an alternative to the conventional method of doing innovation, where information has to stay within preset parameters. From the name itself, this means being open to sharing and receiving new kinds of information. On February 11, 2021, MBO Partners conducted a webinar titled, “Bringing Open Innovation to the Future Work.” Here, I spoke with two industry leaders, namely: John Winsor, CEO of Open Assembly Balaji Bondili, Head of Deloitte Pixel In the event, we mentioned that open innovation is the new trend that companies from all over the world should be adopting. With several pressing issues facing many corporations nowadays, we believe businesses must use crowdsourcing and open innovation technologies to access top talents, solve challenges, gain new insights, and build a culture of innovation in their organizations. Why NOW is the Time for Open Innovation Amid the gloom and doom of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the uplifting things that happened was companies coming together to work openly at unprecedented levels. We think the world is currently undergoing the “Great Restructuring,” and because of this, firms must be open to address and understand the fragility of traditional systems and apply systems thinking. We also believe it’s important for corporations nowadays to connect with the best talents in a frictionless way. This strategy enables firms to ensure that when they delegate tasks, they understand what work needs to get done and also tap into the skills and expertise of some of the best talents out there. According to an article from the Harvard Business Review, collaboration not only saves human lives but also produces HUGE benefits for companies. … and with the recent burst of open innovation, we agree that business leaders should take note of the MASSIVE potential that comes with this type of innovation: That it allows thousands of executives and students to innovate in a more distributed, decentralized, and participatory way. However, moving towards open innovation also has challenges. With concerns over intellectual property (IP), return on investment (ROI), and other unforeseen consequences, some businesses think twice before adapting to this trend. That’s why Winsor, Bondili, and I shared our insights on how companies can overcome challenges to open innovation: Forget about the IP for the meantime. Some businesses worry about “leaked” information due to collaborations with outsiders. As a result, they only work with others on a few peripheral tasks but not on important business issues. Example: Several companies in Europe made it practically impossible for their open innovation partners to provide help and advice. Why? These firms wouldn’t reveal what their most critical problems entailed as it could endanger future patenting! So, what was supposed to be an innovative partnership turned into irrelevance. IP is important. However, it shouldn’t block any open innovation initiative from gaining momentum. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be wiser to focus more on creating value rather than capturing value. Make the most out of open innovation-related motivation. We believe companies must rely on voluntary and active participation of employees and partners to succeed in a particular task/project. This means instead of relying on a combination of hard and soft incentives to motivate internal and external collaborators, businesses must identify AND respond to their partners’ true motivations. Example: Some professionals are motivated by a strong desire to enhance their skill sets, while businesses are motivated by an effective means to access complementary skills and assets. By taking advantage of these motivators, firms can proceed with their open innovation initiatives more effectively and efficiently. Be open to new and potential partners. One of the common challenges to open innovation is welcoming new partners. Why? New collaborations always entail costs in terms of search, validation, compliance, and forming new relationships between people. However, in today’s workforce landscape, partners are important to gain complementary skills and perspectives. The saying, “No man is an island” also applies to businesses. To continue to thrive in an ever-changing world, companies must learn to explore and work with other firms or outsourced individuals. This will help preserve an open-minded attitude towards new and potential partners, and stay on top of innovation strategies. As business leaders, Winsor, Bondili, and I believe companies should turn to open innovation as the “Great Ideation” in the midst of the “Great Restructuring.” Adapting to this new trend will enable firms to bring diversity of thought and capability in their workforce. What else? Businesses and professionals must have the passion and purpose to openly innovate TOGETHER. Doing things together is a way to see MASSIVE potential for individual professionals and the firm as a whole. Keep these tips and insights in mind and apply them in how you run a business or manage a team! By bringing open innovation to your workforce, you, your colleagues, and your firm will operate with a much bigger purpose than just getting the next best idea. Stay tuned for next week’s “Mindfulness by Miles!” Follow us on LinkedIn.