Recently, Brightidea engaged in a live Q&A session with Planview and Innovation SE on igniting and powering prioritization in innovation programs. As one of the lead speakers during the session, it was personally both exhilarating and fulfilling. I was extremely impressed with the diversity of the audience and their questions. Clearly, organizations of all sorts are thinking about how to incorporate innovation into their day-to-day and how to maximize the effectiveness of the process.
Of the 150 questions submitted during the session, most of the feedback led me to a fundamental point that we convey to everyone we work with, which is that innovation is a full end-to-end process that should lead to demonstrable results. Innovating and ideating without purpose won’t get you anywhere. The only results you’ll see are a group of frustrated participants and leadership knocking on your door asking why you wasted their most precious resources on a fruitless venture. For innovation to truly impact your business in a meaningful way, you must develop and maintain an end-to-end process that begins with strategic alignment and ends with implementation.
While developing a program process, everyone is faced with identifying which ideas are the most worthy of implementation. We took a poll during the live Q&A session about how comfortable the audience is with prioritizing ideas. Based on the poll results, it appears that many people struggle with establishing a documented process that utilizes metrics to identify which ideas have the most merit (30% of people go on gut alone). Why is it that so many people struggle with innovation process?
While many people believe that process and structure stifle creativity – critical to producing those big “Wow” ideas – this couldn’t be further from the truth. A solid process ensures that the venture will be meaningful to the business by generating outcomes and creating ROI.
At Brightidea, we believe that two elements are key to successful prioritization:
Establish your success criteria before starting a project.
Use an accessible tool that allows subject matter experts to produce a quantifiable assessment. We find that our multi-round scorecarding feature is really helpful to clients for this purpose.
Additionally, there are two questions you must access yourself before engaging in the endeavor. This first piece is critical. You must ask the question, is this pursuit in line with the strategic objectives of the company? Secondly you must ask, is there funding to implement the outcome of this process? If the answer to either of those questions is no, do not pass Go. You should start over with a new topic. Once the strategic foundation is laid, then you can go crazy with getting the smelly markers, post-it notes, squishy toys, and beanbag chairs for creativity sessions.
With a foundation of strategic alignment and funding in place as well as a solid process endorsed by all, your innovation process should deliver some pretty fantastic outcomes. If you have more questions about establishing your process, please reach out me to discuss further. If you'd like to view the recorded Q&A with Planview and Innovation SE, it's available here.
We are excited to announce that Brightidea will be joining one of our partners,
Planview, for a live Ask the Expert Q&A on April 25. Planview Vice President Linda Roach will moderate as expert panelists Carrie Nauyalis, also of Planview, and Kristen Jordan Fotter, Innovation Consulting Leader with Brightidea, discuss how to collect and assess winning ideas while prioritizing the right ones against available resources. Planview’s focus on helping customers optimize their two most precious resources, people and money, paired with Brightidea’s proven innovative solutions will empower guests to fill their product development pipelines with ideas that fit their capacity and resources.
Brightidea is also proud to be sponsoring the 4th annual PIPELINE online conference
taking place on Thursday, May 16th. With a focus on “Change the Game with Innovation that Works”, attendees will receive valuable insight from expert practitioners on innovation, product development, and product portfolio management. From case studies to recommendations you can implement right away, these best-in-class thought leaders will share their industry knowledge and success stories to help attendees discover ways they can implement innovation that works.
SAP Revamps Largest Customer Co-Creation Portal in History
As one of the largest software companies in the world, SAP is in constant demand of the best ideas. Transparency, scalability, and access to feedback are all critical to continually re-envisioning products to meet and exceed customer demands. For the past few years SAP’s has used Idea Place as its main channel to collect customer feedback on SAP products and services. When SAP decided that a program revamp was in order, it decided the emphasis of the new Idea Place should be on customer co-creation and open innovation, and with the technical scalability and increased social functionality that will further entrench the voice of the customer into the product lifecycle. Powered by Brightidea software, this next generation co-creation platform gives SAP the ability to scale its efforts to continually innovate by providing customers a seamless channel to inform the product roadmap.
As the largest open innovation platform of its kind, Idea Place is an enterprise-wide system that hosts over 100 idea sessions (or “WebStorms"™ in Brightidea terms). Each idea session is focused around a specific SAP product or service, operating independently with its program owner, leveraging its own automated workflow processes, categories and navigation. Owners are typically an SAP Product Manager in charge of gaining participation and engagement for their own product.
Currently scoped around existing SAP products and services, the vision for the program extends well beyond incremental product feedback and enhancements, according to Kuhan Milroy, Director of Social Business Innovation at SAP.
“The vision of Idea Place is to provide disruptive innovation through breakthrough ideas, reaching new audiences as well as connecting audiences that SAP has traditionally not connected before,” says Milroy.
Providing transparency is something that Idea Place already does and will continue to do, and the capabilities and functionality provided by Brightidea software make that much easier. Some notables are:
Anyone who wants to can visit and view Idea Place activity. Those who want to get involved and participate can gain access to submit and collaborate by registering through SAP’s community site SCN.
Each campaign includes Social activity feeds and notifications that allow users to follow and collaborate on topics they care most about and connect easily with others.
In-depth metrics and analytics on everything from idea submissions, comments, votes, evaluation statuses, to implemented enhancements are available both on an individual campaign as well as enterprise level.
Planned integrations with product development and issue tracking tools like Jira help provide a seamless pathway to route ideas back into the product development lifecycle.
SAP realizes that in order to continually meet and exceed customer demands they simply cannot afford to ignore their customers’ feedback. Providing a continual, fully integrated channel to tap customer ideas on existing and future products will help SAP stay ahead of market demands and the competition in the years ahead!
Check out SAP’s revamped Idea Place today here.
Or you can also read the full details of the announcement, here.
The start of the year is a great time to review and reflect on events of the last year that made an impact. With that, we'd like to share with you Brightidea's most popular blog posts of 2012. These posts not only experienced the most views, they also were 'off the charts' in terms of social sharing. So here they are once again, for your reading enjoyment.
Kraft Doubles Down on Open Innovation
Learn why the Kraft Foods Collaboration Kitchen (KFCK) is a major shift in the open innovation strategy at the company.
GE’s Healthymagination Challenge Winners Announced!
Winners are annouced for General Electric's (GE) open innovation challenge, Healthymagination, looking for breakthrough ideas on early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
Next Generation Innovation Emerges at HP
Exclusive video on HP's InnoStream, the latest innovation management campaign driving new ideas on products and services at every level of the company using Brightidea software.
What do you think of this list, did we miss any of your favorite posts from 2012?
Here at Brightidea, we talk a lot about the vital role collaboration plays in the innovation process. Understanding the way modern collaboration is changing and being shaped by technology, society and beyond, is an important aspect of the way we work. Sarah Miller Caldicott is a tenured expert of marketing and innovation, and a grandniece to Thomas Edison. Caldicott's latest book, Midnight Lunch, examines Edison's collaborative leadership techniques up close. An admirer of Edison and advocate for innovation and collaboration, our very own Matt Greeley, CEO and Founder of Brightidea, gives insights and context for Sarah's newest venture into Edison's world of collaboration in the forward for Midnight Lunch. We sat down with Sarah to talk about the inspiration for the book, and the key points almost anyone can take away about how collaboration is changing the way we work.
What was the inspiration for Midnight Lunch?
In my first book,
Innovate Like Edison, I wrote about Edison's extraordinary ability to master so many of the capabilities needed to be a successful innovator. It was stunning to realize that Edison pioneered 6 industries in less than 40 years. Master-mind Collaboration was the fourth competency in what I described as Edison's Five Competencies of Innovation. I was inspired to write Midnight Lunch because I wanted to go deeper into this collaboration competency, to explore it further. In working with companies over the past 5 years, I see collaboration as something that people can put their hands around. Most everyone has worked on a team. People have experienced exceptional teams as well as really dysfunctional teams. Offering a viewpoint on what I describe in Midnight Lunch as "true collaboration" was something that I felt could be immediately for people. Collaboration is doubly important in the digital environments we're dealing with now.
Can you give a little background on the title?
Midnight Lunch refers to the affectionate slang that Edison's Menlo Park, New Jersey crew gave to what we to after-hours sessions that took place at the lab. When workers stayed late to monitor their experiments, Edison often joined them. He'd go home at 5 PM, have dinner with his family, then sometimes return to the lab around 7 PM to check in on progress of key projects. Often, he would also run his own experiments during these after-hours visits.
Edison encouraged all the lab workers to observe what the others were doing while he was there, and offer their insights to each other. These heady exchanges were casual, yet focused. At about 9 PM, Edison ordered in snacks and sandwiches from a local tavern for everyone who was still workig. The entire group would kick back, tell stories, sing songs – even play music. People had a chance to get to know each other socially in this setting. No one was monitoring performance, or "keeping score." After these 'midnight lunches,' everyone went back to work for a few more hours.
The magic of midnight lunch was the cohesiveness it created among the employees, and the creative insights it encouraged. Midnight lunch transformed employees into colleagues.
Who can gain the most from reading this book? (i.e. CEO's, Executives, college students, etc?)
This book is really designed to benefit anyone who serves on a team. It can benefit senior leaders who are guiding an innovation team, striving to assemble an innovation team, or working to address differences of opinion being voiced by project team members. It can also benefit individuals who want to improve how they serve their teammates. The book offers step-by-step guidance on how to create collaboration as a capacity of the individual, and then how to meld the creativity that emerges from this in a team context. Midnight Lunch also addresses the unique collaboration styles of Generation Y, so anyone who's part of a multi-generational workforce can benefit from it.
What are the biggest factors changing the way collaboration takes place in modern businesses?
I see three huge factors. The first is that from 2010 through 2020, one billion working-age adults will enter the global workforce. This is an unprecedented number. Organizations must understand how to engage these individuals, how to inspire them, and how to connect them to the innovation process.
The second factor is that this newly emergent group of workers will have access to mobile devices, almost without exception. Leaders must find ways to "collaborate and connect" across the vast network of mobile devices owned by this emerging group, integrating the practices of mobile-native users alongside the face-to-face practices of those already in the workforce. Even though many older workers today are comfortable online, it doesn't mean they understand how to operate in a hybrid virtual/live environment This means that differing work styles must either be integrated, or made to exist comfortably alongside one another – a big management challenge.
And the third factor is leadership style. The days of the stacked hierarchies we saw in the Industrial Age are numbered. Vertical communication is not fast enough to compete with the instantaneous communication of peer-to-peer networks. So teams are flattening, organizations are flattening, and this means that titles and positions long-held in esteem during the Industrial era will shift. New types of leaders will emerge – leaders who can work shoulder-to-shoulder in this new environment, leaders who can inspire others and instill a sense of purpose. All three of these factors are addressed in Midnight Lunch.
What is one surprising thing you learned about Edison from researching for this book?
Edison was dedicated to the self-development of his workers. He wanted to see them progress, to be part of a discovery process that meant continual learning – no matter what area of his operation they were engaged in. While Edison certainly didn't have career paths charted for his employees, as leaders might do today, he rolled up his sleeves and taught his people core skills – most particularly, how to experiment. By emphasizing the importance of experimentation as a means to discover and advance one's learning, he boosted the creative contributions of each individual in his employ. Edison also created an incredibly cross-trained workforce that was adaptive and responsive to changing marketplace conditions. Edison's emphasis on continual learning as a central part of collaboration I think is crucial for us today.
Any predictions on the future of collaboration and how it will change the way we work and build successful companies?
Yes. I think the "industrial internet," (The Internet of Things) coupled with advances in artificial intelligence will transform the way we work. We will see an emergence of data and patterns as huge drivers of our decision-making process, and our ability to drive new business models. A second prediction I would make, which I emphasize in Midnight Lunch, is the rise of the "metalogue." A metalogue is a focused set of communications from few to many. Advances in digital technologies and breakthroughs in visual platforms like holograms will allow more people to engage in metalogue simultaneously, and for their input to be processed and synthesized in realtime. This has huge implications for how innovation happens in the workplace, as well as other parts of our lives, particularly politics and freedom of speech.
These two major trends help define why we need to become adept at collaboration now, and position it as a "superskill" everyone must master. Edison's ability to link collaboration and innovation offers us some important clues on how to succeed in driving value-creation in our digital era.
VMware, a global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, is hosting its first ever Open Innovation Contest. Using Brightidea software, VMware is actively engaging its community of users and encouraging participation for VMWorld 2013, an annual conference for IT professionals focusing on virtual server environment. The public innovation contest is designed for VMware software users that utilize a variety of fun, free tools offered by the company called 'flings'. The winning submission could potentially be a new fling built by the Engineering teams at VMware Labs. A panel of judges will review all the submissions and will announce the contest winner on November 30, 2012.
Since launching, the contest received positive responses from users and valuable collaboration on submitted ideas. One popular submission is to build a single backup of all vcenter and vshield components. The capability will allow users to select or unselect all vcenter configuration options and back up or send it on a share.
The open innovation contest portal invites ideas from the public and allows for the easy management of those ideas. The social features on the front and back-end allow for development of submitted ideas and efficient, collaborative review and decision-making.
Watch the official contest video to learn what the VP of Innovation at VMware has to say about 'flings.'
From protecting frontline soldiers to reaching the moon, Lockheed Martin has a 100-year track record of innovation. From the humble beginnings of founders Glen Martin, Allan Lockheed and Malcolm Lockheed, an unrelenting journey began to continuously push the boundaries of technologies that promise a better, brighter, and accelerated tomorrow.
Marking its 100th anniversary, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is launching its first public innovation challenge, Innovate the Future Challenge. As a top global security and aerospace company that employs 61,000 engineers, scientists, and IT professionals, Lockheed Martin understands that great ideas can come from anywhere. Realizing the importance of early creativity, Lockheed Martin encourages and supports the next generation of inventors, students, researchers, mathematicians, engineers, and scientists to participate in the challenge. In conjunction with the public-facing challenge, an internal challenge will allow Lockheed Martin employees to contribute ideas for ways the company can create profitable growth in adjacent markets and innovate for affordability. The Innovate the Future Challenge creates a unique opportunity for Lockheed Martin to pursue affordability and collaboration through a systematic innovation program that taps both internal and external resources.
"Through this contest, we are creating an online environment that helps people with diverse backgrounds and experiences share their ideas," states Dr. Ray O. Johnson, senior vice president and chief technology officer.
Powered by Brightidea, the global forum will be open for ideas from the public starting August 6th and ending on September 30th, 2012. Participants will be able to submit their ideas under nine categories – health, safety, technology, environment, security, transportation, energy, education, and other. Lockheed Martin's review committee will judge and score the submitted ideas based on three main areas: impact, creativity, expression. Up to 5 ideas will be selected for cash rewards: the first place winner will receive a $25,000 award, the runner-up a $10,000 award, and three third place winners will receive $5,000 awards. That's not all. The grand prizewinner will also receive an incubation contract with Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute at the University of Maryland to help further develop the idea.
Brightidea enables the company to effectively tap inside and outside sources of expertise and create a dynamic collaborative environment where innovation can flourish. Our backend evaluation tools support advanced review and efficient processing of a high volume of ideas, creating streamlined evaluation processes through scorecarding, private evaluator collaboration rooms, and much more.
Join Lockheed Martin! Share your ideas. Encourage others. Above all else, recognize your potential to make an important contribution by submitting your ideas today!
The latest Birds of a Feather (BOF) Innovation Leaders event drew an impressive group of elite innovation practitioners to Motorola Solutions headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. Attendees hailed from top global companies including Pepsico, Sara Lee, Humana, Whirlpool Corporation, Farm Credit Services of America and more. Each person gained invaluable insight through direct peer-to-peer discussions, informative presentations and breakout sessions all set within an exclusive setting that took attendees inside Motorola Solutions innovation center. As Paul Tran, Director of Business Development at Brightidea states people "shared success that could only be learned by real practitioners".
Besides an interactive tour of Motorola's Innovation Center, attendees were treated talks from renown practitioners Heidi Hattendorf, Director of Innovation Development at Motorola and Michele Egger, innovation Capability Operations, at Chevron as well as Jeffrey Phillips, author of "Relentless Innovation". The eventful day also included a screening of filmmaker, futurist, and 'epiphany addict' Jason Silva's short film "Imagination" and smaller breakout sessions where attendees were able to participate in more in-depth discussions that covered the how-to's for innovation programs, latest enhancements in ideation technology, best practices, and more.
On behalf of Brightidea, we would like to thank Motorola Solutions for generously hosting this year's BOF Americas Region. They are a valuable partner and contributor to making BOF a reality. Join other leading innovation practitioners online in the BOF community at http://bi.brightidea.com/bof. Don't forget to check out Facebookfor even more exclusive photos and get involved with innovation discussions on LinkedIn.
Tuesday July 3rd, 2012 Intranet Benchmarking Forum (IBF) is hosting the July edition of their IBF Live a unique interactive visual radio for 'intranet and digital workplace managers' where members can interact and connect with fellow viewers during the broadcast.
This 44th episode will feature Art Beckman, Program Lead HP Software Innovation and Brightidea's co-founder Vincent Carbone as they discuss HP's internal innovation platform The Garage. For years, Brightidea software has powered The Garage, where 300,000 employees can easily share ideas and collaborate on a host of different topics organized by business units. During this edition of IBF Live, Art will be talking about how HP has been utilizing tools to facilitate innovation, while Vincent will go over the best practices in idea management.
This exclusive event is not limited to IBF members only – you can sign up for a free one-time guest pass, but there is a limited supply so register soon!
Since Henry Chesbrough coined the term in 2003, open innovation has been providing a framework for companies to tap a vast network of customers, experts, and other organizations. Companies such as Kraft, P&G, General Electric (GE), and Bosch have been using open innovation to source and develop outside concepts that spur disruptive innovation and help solve pressing challenges. Undeniably, open innovation has been a powerful tool for companies looking to boost innovation, but a lack in focus can sometimes lead to an overabundance of ideas that lack a connection to current business needs. Focus is certainly key as PG has proven with"…more than 35 percent of new products in market have elements that originated from outside P&G".
Although open innovation was not a new concept at Kraft Foods, the company was looking to focus their open innovation efforts. Moving from a single private submission form where the public could freely submit any idea on anything with Innovate with Kraft (IWK), to a focused platform, the Kraft Foods Collaboration Kitchen (KFCK) is a major shift in their open innovation strategy. The new portal manages ideas from the public on new products, solutions and technologies with specific topics in mind predetermined internally. With KFCK, the company's strategy focuses on solving specific needs or questions defined by Kraft employees, known as 'briefs', and inviting the public to contribute their ideas on those topics. KFCK is powered by Brightidea software which allows easy management and launch of numerous briefs while facilitating collaboration amongst users in an interactive online community. Kraft is expecting to release well over 70 different briefs over the next year across its different brands.
Big organizational changes have come to Kraft Foods over the past few years. In 2010 the company acquired the British confectionary company Cadbury and recently announced plans to split into two separate businesses, Kraft Foods Groceries and Mondelez International (a name crowdsourced internally in Kraft's Brightidea-powered Idea Kitchen). Kraft continues its commitment to innovation with the launch of KFCK, which essentially combines Innovate with Kraft (IWK) Open innovation portal together with Cadbury's Collaboration Factory under one roof.
With names like Oreo, Cadbury, and Jello-O, Kraft Foods houses some of the world's best-known food brands. Want to bring your own flavor to the products you love? Now is your chance to bring your ideas to Kraft. If you are university student, technology person, innovator, or just someone with great ideas and new products or patents check out the Collaboration Kitchen to get involved!
