Calling for Speakers, Topics for European Open Innovation Conference

by Stefan Lindegaard

We need a strong open innovation conference in Europe that allows the innovation community to further develop their capabilities on this important paradigm shift. I am helping an international organizer on this and I would like to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What topics would you like to see at such a conference?

2. Which speakers or companies would you like to hear at the conference? Why?

Please leave a comment below. Please also spread the word about this “call for speakers” through Twitter and other social media channels.

Will Open Innovation Make Companies Obsolete?

by Stefan Lindegaard

As a response to my blog post on “Is Open Innovation the Future for All Companies?”, Antti Pikkusaari commented this in a LinkedIn group:

“Or could it be that it’s not about adopting OI? But rather about corporations as we know them becoming gradually obsolete? Open or Networked Innovation being a very important factor causing that happen in business environments demanding increasing levels of strategic agility.

In other words, should innovation be treated simply as yet another item to be outsourced? Need to own or “control” your innovation capability is becoming less relevant since good ideas spread very quickly anyway and the winner is increasingly the one who can be the best in commercializing the products and solutions?”

This is my...

CALL FOR MONEY: A Social Media Service for Corporate Innovators

by Stefan Lindegaard

We live in the era of openness so here comes a straight-out call for funding for a social media service that can help corporate innovation units extract value out of social media.

What is the challenge?

Social media plays an increasingly important role when it comes to corporate innovation. Yet, most companies do not know how to use social media tools in relation to innovation and as a result they miss out on benefits such as:

• a better understanding of market or technology trends and insights

• a better feedback loop on existing products and services

• faster development cycles for new products and services

• improved marketing, promotion capabilities for new projects

• increased collaboration on and sharing of ideas and...

This is How You Deliver a Great Presentation

by Stefan Lindegaard

The story-telling, the buildup of an us-versus-them feeling and the general control of the audience by Jobs – without using slides – is amazing! Great learnings on how to give a presentation!

5 Reasons Not to Use Apple As a Role-Model for Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

I just read a good post on Apple and Jobs by Tom Fishburne on Apple. Well, this is actually one of the few situations where I get to enjoy cartoons at work. They are great and you should check them out!

The many posts on Apple due to Jobs resignation got me to think about the many times, I have heard people argue that Apple is a very innovative company and that other companies should copy their efforts.

I always tell people to cool it, when they start on this. I do believe Apple is a very innovate company, but here you get 5 reasons why I believe you should not use Apple as a role-model for innovation.

1. Apple is...

The Innovation Interest Graph: New Ideas for Bringing Better Innovation to Market Faster

by Stefan Lindegaard

Think social versus interest. Think personal versus business. Then take a look at these numbers:

LinkedIn: 857
Twitter: 6976
Facebook: 44
Google+: 0
Klout: 68

What do they tell you? Probably not much, but when you have read this post, you will know why these numbers fit someone that focuses on the business and interest elements rather than social elements in social media.

First, you need to know about the social graph and the interest graph.

The social graph is a term coined by scientists working in the social areas of graph theory. It describes the relationships between individuals online. Think Facebook, which is the world’s largest social graph.

The interest graph is described by Brian...

Is Open Innovation the Future for All Companies?

by Stefan Lindegaard

Paul Sloane recently asked this question in my 15inno LinkedIn group:

Is Open Innovation the future for all companies or is it so damned hard that only a few will have the resources and commitment to make it work?

I think this is an interesting question although I acknowledge it is a question that you cannot answer with a simple yes or no.

Personally, I do not think we will talk much about open innovation 5-7 years from now. This is not because I believe the idea of opening up the innovation process is wrong; on the contrary. What will happen is that the terms “open innovation” and “innovation” will merge leaving us with just “innovation” – but the meaning of this term...

FREE SESSION: Open Innovation Meets Social Media

by Stefan Lindegaard

Interaction and involvement are key elements for open innovation as well as social media and companies need to build strong capabilities on this intersection if they want to out-innovate their competitors.

I help companies develop strategies and initiatives on this intersection and I write about my learnings on 15inno.com. I am also working on a book and as a part of my research, I can offer your company a free 3-hour session in which I give a presentation and we discuss your issues.

You can get an idea of issues to discuss in this link:  A Learning Experience on Open Innovation and Social Media

The session is FREE OF CHARGE as I believe the value from learning from each other is worth the...

10 Questions for Measuring the Impact of Social Media Tools on Innovation

by Stefan Lindegaard

I am developing some questions for a survey that will look into which extent the use of social media tools can impact innovation efforts. It would be great to get your feedback on this so please drop a comment!

Imagine that you are being asked to consider these statements: Do social media tools help give your company…

Offerings:

• …a better understanding of market or technology trends and insights

• …a better feedback loop on existing products and services

• …faster development cycles for new products and services

• …improved marketing, promotion capabilities for new projects

• …increased collaboration on and sharing of ideas and solutions

Capabilities:

• …an improved innovation mindset and skills for your employees

• …better access to new, potential external innovation...

Who is Neon Leon? – A Great Case on Viral Communication for Innovation Programs

by Stefan Lindegaard

When the innovation team at WD-40 Company recently launched “HYPE,” a new internal system for ideation and idea management, one of their big challenges was to make their colleagues pay attention.

The team decided on creating a charming, yet slightly mischievous, character named Neon Leon to carry the message and two weeks before the global launch of the system, they began a viral campaign at their headquarters offices.

They first sent out an email with a “newspaper article” announcing that the newest member of our innovation team was missing. The announcement explained that Neon Leon, the “spokes-bulb” for the new system, had disappeared along with all of their new idea submissions, just two weeks before the launch.

The team asked everyone...