Appreciation: A Key Organizational Element for Open Innovation

I often say that executives need to create the proper settings and conditions for open innovation since it is so difficult to just make open innovation work and implement lots of tools.

One of the key elements on creating the right conditions is to make the employees understand that a stronger focus on external contribution is not a sign of disapproval of the work being done by them. It is merely an attempt to increase the overall innovation productivity by combining internal and external resources.

You do not want frustrated employees that do not feel that they are being appreciated…

Having employees that feel appreciated with regards to innovation also makes it easier for an organization to embrace a more holistic approach to innovation in the sense that all business functions should be involved in the innovation process. Innovation is more than just products and technology and it should not be driven entirely by the R&D function.