With Open Innovation, Everyone Wins

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, something uplifting happened in the business landscape: Companies began to come together to work openly , prioritizing the ability to create value before the opportunity to earn a profit. One example was the German automation company 西门子 opening its Additive Manufacturing Network to anyone who needed help in medical device design at that time.

While the concept of open source and open innovation have been in practice for many years, during the pandemic, organizations truly began to understand the power of the ‘open’ network for business success. The most successful organizations strategized that an organization's future requires at least three types of workers: full-time employees, contingent workers, and problem solvers sourced through open innovation and crowdsourcing.

Open innovation should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all concept or a put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket challenge. Instead, it should be viewed as an approach to solution generation and problem solving on a repetitive process. As companies get further down the open innovation funnel, they will get better at it, and there’s no time like the present to get started.?

Think of the present, a time of economic uncertainty whereby many organizations are on a full-time hiring freeze. An innovation challenge is a great way to maintain a flow of new ideas at a minimal cost while continuing to fulfill strategic priorities.?

Open innovation’s benefits go far beyond the enterprise, however. When workers involve themselves from a standpoint of a problem solver, they will be able to develop new skills, highlight their credibility, and stand out from a cohort of their peers. For younger workers, this may be a first step to making an impression on a future employer or contract holder, for mid-career workers a path to creative fulfillment or extra income, and for later-in-life workers, a chance to give back, to share ideas, and to offer the benefit of experience while still potentially earning income.?

Open innovation helps businesses and individuals grow through a diverse-status workforce and prepares them for an uncertain future. By making the most out of this strategy, firms and workers can experience tremendous gains while confidently moving into the future of work.

Trending Topics:

●?????In this year’s Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) conference , key speakers highlighted the challenges and possibilities around innovation in the education sector. They said educators shouldn’t look at learning loss as a threat but as an opportunity to reinvent how education is delivered.

●?????Two new open innovation projects of the Solvers Wanted 2022 Challenge kicked off their meetings this month. The proceedings focused on two exciting topics: Brain Computer Interface and Structural Batteries for the Aerospace Industry.

●?????Cindy Chepanoske, the Director of Technology Licensing at Carnegie Mellon University, believes open-source software is a major driver of innovation. According to her, this type of software is hugely beneficial for researchers, tech founders, and coders alike and can generally move science forward.

●?????With several recent AI innovations, many industries are readjusting their systems and processes to keep up with the changes. This article from Entrepreneur talks about the impacts AI will have on the skills development of human beings.

●?????Communities, businesses, and industries must constantly adopt and adapt to be more innovative. This article talks about the qualities of highly innovative institutions or organizations and how every player in society has a role in bringing about innovations that benefit all.

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Today’s piece was guest authored by Keaton Swett , VP of Product and founder of MBO’s open innovation platform, MindSumo .