How Can You Benefit from Crowdsourcing Ideas and Innovation?

In the past, innovation was a luxury that you could afford only if you had access to the right tools and platforms to bring your ideas to life. Most of the world’s innovations depended on the privileged few pursuing their grand ideas. But fortunately, thanks to the new technology, innovation is no longer exclusive to a select group.

The phenomenon of crowdsourcing has been steadily gaining popularity. Crowdsourcing is the process of acquiring funding or labor from a large group of people in a non-traditional setting. As evidenced with new developments in various industries, some of the best game-changing ideas are produced by players who operate outside of the parameters of a traditional organization or hierarchy. The world’s leading entrepreneurs are veering toward a philosophy that is more open to ideas from the outside. In the 21st century, the greatest tool for building ideas is people.

Collective human intelligence has always existed but the emergence of the internet has maximized collective human ideation. With just a few on-screen commands and carefully chosen words, leading entrepreneurs can gather valuable data and information to hone innovative ideas. One of the most prominent examples of the effectiveness of crowdsourcing is the start-up Kickstarter. Kickstarter is an online resource that pools in innovators and investors together in a single platform for engagement and funding. This new medium has opened the innovation and project development game to a whole new world of possibilities.

So why do more businesses are getting engaged in crowdsourcing efforts?

Crowdsourcing is a cost-effective way to find quality labor to benefit a company. It offers businesses a nontraditional way to tap into a workforce that has the specific skillsets the company needs to stay competitive. Diversifying an organization’s talent pool through nonconventional hiring and information-gathering techniques can boost productivity while lowering costs at the same time.

For example, crowdsourcing helped the popular snack brand Cheetos create one of its best-selling products. A janitor working for Frito-Lay, the company that produces Cheetos, stumbled upon the idea of incorporating chili powder into Cheetos’ cheese flavoring for its corn snacks. He presented the idea to management and they were impressed with his ingenuity. The Cheetos Flamin’ Hot product line was born. This innovative breakthrough didn’t come from conventional channels. It was the result of the company’s willingness to be open to ideas from unexpected sources.

It’s important for competitive businesses to encourage open platforms for communication and collaboration within their corporate structures. Regardless of departmental segregations or corporate hierarchies, each member of the organization should be allowed to communicate ideas that transcend traditional functional parameters. The next big accounting system breakthrough can come from someone who works in the IT department. A tool like Zillable is a perfect fit for organizations that are invested in promoting real innovation and collaboration. Zillable offers its users the opportunity to effectively communicate their ideas in real-time to any stakeholders for a project. Users can also oversee and stay updated on the progress of an entire project throughout the various stages of its completion. Zillable is a great tool for crowdsourcing and collaborative ideation because it breaks down barriers that are built by traditional corporate structures.

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At the end of the day, it’s all about maximizing your company’s collective brainpower. Crowdsourcing allows you to encourage rather than stifle innovation, and when used effectively, it’s is a powerful tool for innovation. Everywhere we look, we can see evidence that technology enriches our human potential. And with apps like Zillable, we can continually push the boundaries of human potential every day.

About Zillable

Zillable? is the world’s first team collaboration network for innovation-on-demand. We’re where teams can make work and innovation happen. As a secured communication and collaboration hub, Zillable provides an awesome, intelligent network that bridges minds and workflows by putting all the right tools in one place for teams of any size. With Zillable, you can chat, get more done and remember everything. For more information, please visit www.Zillable.com. Try it for Free.