What does "collective intelligence" really mean? How and when can companies leverage the wisdom of the crowd to innovate more successfully? And what "crowd" is the right one? These were just a few of the many questions that sparked vivid discussions at Brightidea's Birds of a Feather (BOF) Innovation Leaders meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

Hosted by UBS, Europe's second largest investment bank, the workshop was part of the BOF "A Next Step for Every Idea" Tour, and brought together about 40 innovation practitioners and thought leaders in the EMEA region. Attendees came from companies like Kraft, Merck, Bayer, Philip Morris, Novo Nordisk, SWIFT, among others.

The event kicked off with a casual dinner the night before, as has become a tradition for the tour. At Zurich's Reithalle, a popular restaurant set in the city's former military horse stables, BOF attendees started networking and sharing their experiences in innovation management over delicious food, beer and wine.

The next day, UBS's modern downtown conference building hosted a day filled with intense knowledge exchange, thought-provoking presentations and rich discussions in small and larger groups.

Dr. Michael Durst of ITONICS set a collaborative tone with an engaging presentation on How to Harness Collective Intelligence – If It Exists. He provided thought-starters that sparked an open peer-to-peer discussion of when and how to leverage collective intelligence for corporate innovation. Dr. Durst summarized: "Collective intelligence does exist. Even if great ideas come from only a small number of visionaries, the community around them is able to evaluate and build on these ideas."

During the following breakout session, led by Dr. Kai Engel from AT Kearney, attendees shared their insights and answers to four questions most corporate innovation practitioners face:

• What is the value proposition for systematic idea crowd sourcing in your organization?
• What road blocks can hinder the use of idea crowd sourcing tools?
• How can idea sourcing efforts become more effective and efficient?
• How can internal road blocks be removed?

The morning sessions provided extensive food-for-thought for all participants, and the afternoon was no less engaging and information-packed.

Reto Wey, Managing Director at UBS, shared fascinating insights into UBS' Idea Exchange, the corporate innovation platform running on Brightidea's software. Joined by Michael Polli, who has been administrating the program, they provided interesting facts on the corporation's latest global idea campaigns that have generated over 500 ideas from 20,000 active users.

After this concrete success story, Holosoft's John Lewis' presentation on Innovation Strategies took the event participants onto a more theoretical, though no less applicable, level. With real-life examples, John explained the mechanisms, criteria and requirements of innovation initiatives that successfully create value.

Hosted by open innovation expert Frank Mattes, the final open discussion about the change in corporate culture needed to implement open innovation rounded up the official event. However, discussions among participants continued throughout the evening and, so we heard, are still ongoing…

Some key takeaways from the BOF event:

On Participation:

• "You have to invite and inspire your community to participate in innovation" Mateo Rizzi, SWIFT
• Create a sense of urgency in your ideation community through management support and campaigns with limited time frames.
• Establishing credibility is crucial for sustained support from your innovation community. Don't over-promise. Deliver.

On Overcoming Corporate Roadblocks:

• Skepticism of the management against innovation campaigns is a major roadblock. Getting key decision makers onboard early in the planning process of any innovation initiative will help create momentum and drive adoption. But careful—too much management involvement can scare participants away.
• Provide effective tools for your ideation community. Ease-of-use is absolutely key to drive adoption. Make it easy for people to share their ideas and collaborate!
• People tend to be afraid of the new and unknown. Clear communication of goals, processes and timelines creates transparency and avoids confusion.

On Incentives:

• "We find non-monetary rewards the most effective - Recognition is very important to employees. Ever tried offering the boss's parking spot for a week as incentive? We've seen it work!" – Dr. Mike Durst

Thanks to UBS for their hospitality and warm welcome, to all presenters for sharing their insights and knowledge, and particularly to all attendees for making this such an engaging, vivid and interesting event.

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