Creating Value

3 (Major) Keys to Introducing Open Innovation in Your Organization

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. In 2016 a statement like that might come across as click bait, but the fact remains that upwards of 90% of startups fail within their first 3 years. For the large percentage of workers who don’t have the risk tolerance or resources to start their own business, there are many ways to balance your entrepreneurial inclinations while still leveraging the stability of working for a well established organization.

Being employed in the current technology market is about creating unique value for the organization, and carving out a role for yourself that machine learning, artificial intelligence, or just some excel macros can’t replace. Since graduating from college I’ve been lucky to join a newly formed company or a new team within a well established company. I’ve never had the opportunity to begin a job, and have someone walk me through the standard protocols of how the job has been done. For some this might be incredibly frustrating, for others it can present an incredible opportunity for creativity. I choose the latter.

In every role I spent the early days of the job reflecting on what my exact skill sets were, and consciously deciding to become a teammate who created value in unique ways that only I could. By creating a unique niche for myself to bring value to the team, I became irreplaceable.

One of the leading schools of thought on how to continually add value to an organization is Open innovation. Open Innovation is focused on uncovering new ideas, reducing risk, increasing speed and leveraging scarce resources. With a better understanding of “what is out there”, a company is able to lower risk by combining external capabilities with internal innovation resources. Plainly put, this means telling your boss that you think your organization needs help, and you are the person to reach out internally and externally to make partnerships that can help further the goals of the organization.

Convincing smart people that their degrees, years of experience, and good looks is not enough to innovate at the pace needed to keep up with the market won’t be easy. So I’ve laid out three keys to successfully introduce open innovation to your organization

Find an open ear

You will not only need an open ear, but you’ll need someone who can champion your ideas, and ideally provide cover for you to work. There will be pushback, and it might surprise you who will push back, but stand steadfast in your belief that external research and resources will get the company where it needs to go.

Clearly defined problem definition, ownership & objectives

Reach out to all the leaders of the organization with one simple question “What are your priorities for the next year?”. Understanding what issues the leaders think are important to the organization will help you build a strong hypothesis about the problems the organization faces. Then after you speak to the leaders, speak to their subordinates to get the real scoop. Never underestimate the knowledge and power of executive assistants.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.

And when everyone is on the same page, then communicate again. It is key that everyone involved internally and externally be on the same page about the problem, process, and deliverables. No one likes surprises at the end of a project.

Be stubborn on the vision, but flexible on the details

As Jeff Bezos famously said “Be stubborn on the vision, but flexible on the details”, convincing an organization that Open Innovation is a tool they should leverage to remain innovate will not be easy and will earn you a few gray hairs. However, when the tide begins to flow in your favor then being flexible with how the organization wants to implement Open Innovation is key to making change happen without coming across as a tyrant.

The jobs of the future will require skill sets that are ever changing, and roles will come and go, but finding new ways to be innovative within an organization is the key to remaining not only employed but valuable.

Lemu Coker is a Senior Consultant in Verizon’s Open Innovation group. For any questions or requests, you can connect with Lemu via Twitter @thashadow.

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