The Key Questions on Open Innovation

I am working to develop a list of questions that people who are interested in open innovation can use to gauge the state of corporate initiatives. The list can also be use for interviews with companies and thought leaders in this field.

It is still work in process, but I thought it would be helpful to share this with you in order for us to create this list together.

As I started to write this, my initial approach was to view this as questions I could use for interviews with corporate open innovation leaders. The categories and current questions reflect this. Please feel free to add more categories to extend this to the broader open innovation community.

I will post a revised version in the near future. In the meantime, please let me hear your comments and please forward/tweet this to other relevant people in your network.

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

• What is driving open innovation at X COMPANY?
• Which issues on open innovation are the most pressing right now at X COMPANY?
• Where do you see open innovation in X COMPANY five years from now?
• How do you define open innovation at X COMPANY?
• In which business functions do you have the most open innovation activity in your company?

YOUR VIEWS AND ADVICE ON OPEN INNOVATION:

• What got you to work with open innovation?
• How do find inspiration on open innovation practices?
• What do you see as the next practices of open innovation at X COMPANY?
• Do you believe cultural differences have an impact on open innovation? Can you share some examples on this?
• Which companies do you believe are leaders in the open innovation movement? Why?
• What advice would you give to an innovation leader who has been put in charge of driving open innovation at his/her company?
• What advice would you give to companies that are about to embrace open innovation?
• I believe the future of innovation is open and global. If you agree, what advice would you give to people aspiring to build a career within innovation?

SCOUTING / NEEDS:

• What systems or processes do you use to find partners that can meet the needs of X COMPANY?
• Do you have a formal scouting program in place? Can you explain how this works?
• It can be difficult explaining the outside world what your corporate needs are? Which actions have you taken to improve on this?

SUCCESS / FAILURE / METRICS:

• Can you mention one or more success stories on open innovation for X COMPANY?
• Can you share a couple of mistakes that have you made as you implement open innovation?
• Can you share examples on how open innovation has helped create new business areas for X
• Can you mention five metrics that you use to track open innovation?
• Does open innovation really work? Can you document this?

PEOPLE:

• What traits and skills are you looking for in the people working with open innovation at X COMPANY? Do you have special training programs for them?
• What would be the key requirements if you were to hire an open innovation manager?

CULTURE:

• What have the biggest obstacles concerning corporate culture as you implement open innovation?
• How do you get your business units involved in your open innovation initiatives?
• How do you defeat the corporate antibodies that oppose open innovation?
• What incentives worked best to break down the “not-invented-here” syndrome among your researchers? Can you share other ways in which you can make the corporate behaviour more open to external input?
• We often talk about small wins. Can you give some examples of small wins that helped build momentum for your open innovation initiative?
• What can be done to better facilitate knowledge sharing in your company – and with your partners?
• Which steps have you taken to ensure that open innovation is not just about your key products or technologies?

IPR:

• IPR is a big issue on open innovation. What have been your key lessons on this?
• Can you share some insights on how you use your patent portfolio in open innovation projects?
• Which resources can you point to if someone wants to learn more about IPR and open innovation?

EXECUTIVES:

• How do you get your top executives to buy into open innovation?
• Can you give examples on how your top executives have been supportive of open inovation?

INDUSTRY:

• It seems as if fast moving consumer goods companies have taken the lead in the open innovation movement. Why do think this is so?
• Open innovation seems to be hard to do in companies with a strong focus on services and processes. What can they learn from the open innovation leaders?

EXTERNAL PARTNERS:

• I have heard several large companies explain that their version of a win/win relationship is that they win a lot and that their partners win a little. What steps have you taken to create better win/win scenarios with your partners?
• Which actions have you taken to become the preferred partner of choice within your industry?
• To which extent could you use your current alliance management systems and processes in your open innovation setup?
• It is generally better to build long-term partnerships rather than just doing one-deal engagements? What do you do to make your partners want to work with you again?
• What are the key differences in working with other companies versus universities or institutions?
• Can you share some insights on how you reward and recognize your external partners?

COMMUNICATION / BRANDING:

• Which steps have you taken to make your open innovation program known inside as well as outside X COMPANY?
• Have you involved your communication department in your open innovation initiatives? If so, can you explain why and how?

INTERMEDIARIES / CONSULTANTS / SYSTEM PROVIDERS:

• Have you worked with intermediaries such as NineSigma, Innocentive, YourEncore or Inno360? If so, can you share some learnings on this?
• Have you worked with consultants on building your open innovation capabilities? If so, what did they bring to the table?
• What can of idea generation / management systems do you use at X COMPANY?

I look forward to getting your input on this.