I have been attending the conference for many years, and every year there are always new faces and perspectives. This year was no different. It was especially exciting with inspiring keynote presentations, case studies, panels and workshops with innovation visionaries presenting from an impressive global cross section of industry.

Clorox, Corning, PepsiCo, Avery Dennison, Mars, Nestle Purina Petcare, United Healthcare, Allergan, GOJO Industries, ConocoPhillips, Kraft, Philips, the Hershey Co., Siemens, General Mills, Nokia Siemens, MeadWestVaco and Unilever all sent representatives to make it a memorable event. It was also a special treat this year in the preconference workshops to have the participation of executives from the world-class San Diego Zoo.

At the conference there was a focus on several factors that all organizations, regardless of size, can take advantage of. One consistent theme of the conference is open innovation, an area that I always enthusiastically support. We worked together to discuss ways to better identify and implement open business models to achieve faster results, including how to consider external innovation solutions sooner. New engagement platforms were also introduced to help companies better “co-innovate” with customers, partners and suppliers.

In addition there were general discussions of how to accelerate the pace at which a company can adapt to changing marketplace conditions and how to develop complex deal structures to effectively manage IP rights. All of these areas are especially relevant to business today, and I’m sure they will make good topics for exploring in future columns.

For this year’s attendees, it wasn’t hard to quickly realize that the “what” of the innovative solution is more important than “where” and “who” it comes from. The companies presenting demonstrated that by leveraging the capabilities, new ideas, technologies, products and services of others they were able to conduct strategic experiments at lower levels of risk and resources. Over time, they also were able to evolve to a more innovative culture, from the outside in.

These companies also discussed some of the challenges they still face within their organizations. It is especially hard for them during these economically challenged times to find the required amount of funds and resources to do what they feel they need to do.

Defining the “right” comprehensive business model and gaining alignment from the top-down were cited as critical to the ultimate success of a project. In addition, they believe that investing enough time to build collaborative relationships and manage the key “touch points” of strategic relationships was also very important.

Above all, I found that the conference offered the attendees an unparalleled opportunity to continue to build on their professional network. Spending a few days with such a large group of innovation leaders from top-performing companies always gets me enthused to see the current trends, new insights and how the best companies are successfully leveraging their open innovation efforts into business success.

I’m now on the exciting two-week countdown to the February CoDev2012: Achieving Higher OI Returns while Managing Risk, Cost and Uncertainty. There’s still time to join me, as I team up once again with Management Roundtable and PDMA for the upcoming 11th annual event.

If you need a little convincing, check out this FREE PODCAST of the one-hour session I did last week with conference faculty members representing Nestle Purina Petcare, Unilever, and Duane Morris, LLP as they candidly discuss some of the critical elements necessary to build a solid foundation for successful Co-Development and Open Innovation initiatives.

The panel of faculty members address:

• The impact of organizational structure, culture, business model evolution, platform engagement models, staff development and IP management on open innovation success.
• Lessons learned as well as what obstacles and pitfalls they have experienced in advancing their open innovation efforts.
• Key learnings garnered from their attendance at prior CoDev conferences and how this enhanced their open innovation journeys.

Related articles

• CoDev 2012 is coming Feb. 13 (dev.innovationedge.com)
• Communication is Key to Successful Open Innovation (customerthink.com)
• Social Media and Open Innovation: The One True Constant (socialmediatoday.com)
• Harnessing Open Innovation for high performance innovation clusters (open-government.net)

That’s why I’m inviting you to join me, as I team up once again with Management Roundtable and PDMA for the upcoming 11th annual CoDev2012: Achieving Higher OI Returns while Managing Risk, Cost and Uncertainty.

This premiere open innovation forum takes place February 13 – 15, 2012 in La Jolla, Calif.  For a limited time, we are offering a special flexible team discount so that you can bring your internal teams and partners to the table.

Register by November 18th and save $300! Call 1.800.338.2223, or reserve your place online!

This year’s program will include even more inspiring keynote presentations, how-to case studies, facilitated Q&A and group learning sessions as well as multiple venues to network and assemble your own open innovation network for future learning and collaboration.

Check out these  open innovation ambassadors presenting at CoDev2012.

In addition, we’ll be offering 4 brand new half-day workshops on the topics of Evolving New OI Business Models, Innovation Talent Management, Open Innovation Metrics and Implementing Complex Deal Structures for OI Success.

Don’t forget you’ll also network with several hundred top leaders of open innovation, continuous improvement, R&D and product development from a cross section of industries including aerospace, medical devices, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, biotech, oil & gas, electronics, hi-tech, defense and more.

If you are looking for the most up-to-date practitioner based content on open innovation, CoDev2012 promises to once again deliver on all fronts.  I am looking forward to meeting you personally as we discuss current and future trends in open innovation and how you can capitalize on them to gain more value from your open innovation investments.

See you in La Jolla,

Cheryl

Today, as many companies create their growth strategies and look for new opportunities for their products, services and even business models, they often require partnerships and alliances.

In their quest to change the basis of competition and deliver differentiated and meaningful innovation, companies have come to the realization that they need to leverage the capabilities and expertise of others.

Internally, companies have core competencies such as key technologies and skills, core brands and access to distribution channels. Partners can offer the complementary skills and capabilities that don’t exist internally in large part because they aren’t needed by the company on a regular basis.

Companies usually know what they need to execute their strategy. For example, they know they need to define the marketplace opportunities and gaps in unserved (or underserved) segments and expand into new geographies, markets, channels and categories. However, without the right partners to help, it often will not happen according to plan.

Successfully finding and engaging the right partners is not easy, but time and time again we see benefits from reaching out and creating outside relationships to deliver growth. If the relationships are appropriately structured and nurtured, they can often extend the capabilities of the company into new-to-the-company or new-to-the-world areas, increase speed to market with new technologies, products, services and business processes, and lower overall levels of risk.

Often when employees know that they have the flexibility to tap outside skills as necessary, a company that turns to open partnerships has the opportunity to create a more innovative culture — from the “outside in.” Good ideas may not be as easily discounted just because the internal knowledge or expertise doesn’t exist.

Companies just starting with this approach often need to enhance their capabilities to search and find business solutions defined in the context of their innovation efforts. It all begins with exploration. Exploration is the attempt to develop an initial, rough understanding of some phenomenon or some new opportunity areas where customers’ or consumers’ unmet or underserved needs may exist.

Outside explorers or scouts take a systematic approach to facilitate gathering information in the field. They may be either directed at a specific technological area or undirected, identifying relevant developments in technological “white spaces.”

Often, these explorers rely on formal and informal information sources, including the personal networks of the scouts themselves. They physically search for information, technologies, resources, etc. — looking for new opportunities and technologies to bring back to the organization.

Scouting is only one part of collaborative innovation, but it is an important first step to undertake. Leveraging the capabilities and expertise of others is very important opportunity today and a challenge that you will continue to hear more about in the future.

I’ve long enjoyed my partnership with Pure Insight in bringing these new tools and processes to those who can put into practice insights and case studies to find immediate results.

We’re going beyond a typical conference or classroom-style environment to roll up our sleeves together to define not only the level of openness that you want to employ when dealing with partners, but the structure you need in your company and teams to accelerate and enable collaboration. These leaders already know that innovating outside of their organizational boundaries through collaboration is absolutely critical to growing their businesses. We’re upping the ante in how those deals and arrangements are structured, by setting a robust before, during and after collaboration framework for making the partnerships successful for all parties.

This week I had the pleasure of participating in and moderating aspects of the first Social Product Development and Co-Creation Conference in Phoenix Arizona. The conference was focused on exploring new “co-creative” approaches to product development and innovation.

The way value is being created is changing dramatically. It isn’t just about new products and services delivered in isolation, but can also come about from new business models where companies partner, or “co-create”, with customers, suppliers, employees, and the communities or networks they operate within.

For the conference we were able to bring together a diverse group of organizations to explore how companies of all sizes and types are approaching innovation and creating value. The program featured representatives from companies such as American Express, Quirky, Threadless, Harvard Business School, Intuit Labs, Make Magazine, Kimberly-Clark, Microsoft Design Studios, Hallmark Cards and Wired Magazine, to name a few.

Local Motors and Hallmark for example are embracing social product development to get their customers involved. They are leveraging their target users to redefine traditional business models and even redesign many aspects of their business – not just product design. This is not to say that these companies do not still have internal resources focused on innovation and design, but the lines between the producer and user are blurring.

We have talked about Local Motors a few months ago – a company based in Chandler, Arizona that allows customers to design and build their own vehicles and passionately share the designs with other designers, engineers and automobile enthusiasts from all over the world. Local Motors is one example where co-creation is creating rich customer interactions through the growth of user-generated communities and networks.

Leveraging social media vehicles like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are just a few examples of ways to ignite collaboration among customers, suppliers and communities. These avenues can permanently change the relationship between an organization and its stakeholders. It allows organizations to engage end users much earlier in their processes and contribute in novel unexpected ways.

You can capitalize on this change in how to innovate by using co-creation to transform traditional product development into new mutually valuable experiences. Companies of many sizes are reaching out to consumers to empower them to create and build products and help them take their niche products mainstream.

If you what to explore how companies are designing platforms for connecting with customers and other stakeholders, look at company websites and search for where they are inviting people to contribute to their development efforts.

Hallmark recently had a great example at hallmarkcontests.com, a place where anyone could meet and interact online with the company and participate in card contests to win cash prizes. Visit it and check out the section where the cards created by consumers themselves are sold.

Customers have always had the final say on what gets bought, now thanks to co-creation they are getting to more directly participate in the process of deciding what gets sold!

I think you’ll find this conference features the best-of-best elements and people, and we’ve designed it so you’ll be able to exchange ideas, forge new connections and fuel sustainable innovation within your organization that drives growth. Among the highlights is a how-to guide to build a co-creative enterprise from the co-author of leading business book “The Power of Co-creation.”

Social product development is key, and you’ll discover how communities can be used to solve some of your toughest innovation problems, as well as how to build your business around an existing crowd of passionate people. In other words–crowdsourcing for real results.

It all happens on June 27 & 28, and I hope you can join us as we bring together an unprecedented group of thinkers, makers and doers to help you understand and apply co-creative approaches  to your work. This event is for anyone who wants to drive breakthrough results in product development and innovation.

We’re featuring more than 20 keynote speakers across a variety of industries representing companies like LEGO Group, InnoCentive, Harvard Business School, Wired Magazine, American Express, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Hallmark Cards, Intuit Labs and Microsoft 
Design Studio, plus many more.

Be sure to register by May 20th for a huge savings. See you in June!

Imagine if every one of the nation’s 1.3 million semi trucks in the U.S. could each save $5 billion in diesel fuel at the pump and cut CO2 emissions by 16 million tons. It’s an idea that’s catching on, thanks to a computer that is 100,000 times more powerful that your laptop.

The Department of Energy is using a unique open innovation model to potentially save billions of gallons of fuel on the highway. The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working with BMI Corporation to use the department’s Jaguar supercomputer–known as the fastest supercomputer in the United States–to develop a technology that will revolutionize the fuel usage for semi trucks.

This supercomputer is more than 100,000 times more powerful than your laptop. The new design features a SmartTruck UnderTray System to improve the aerodynamics of 18-wheeler trucks.

FastCompany explains how the DOE was able to go from concept to manufacture-ready design in 18 months, a process that would normally take at least three years.  Check out the article here.

The project is called, Digitalkoot, which when translated means Digital Volunteers. Now normally digitizing archives is a dull, tedious job as you could imagine. With millions of pages of historical and cultural magazines, newspapers and journals, it would be easy for mistakes to hamper this process.

So the library partnered with Microtask, a company that designed two video games to make this work more entertaining. ‘
Here’s one of them, called “Mole Hunt.”

Mole Hunt actually shows players how to spot erroneous words in archived material. Not only that, but the game helps make sure digitized materials are accurate and searchable. The hope is that teachers and children will find the volunteer project appealing enough to sign up.

This was our tenth year at CoDev and each year seems more exciting and engaging than the last. More than 300 attendees from all over the world came to take in the newest ideas for partnering to bring innovation to a higher level in their companies and universities. Many of the companies attending are partnering with other companies, universities, laboratories, consultants and manufacturers that have unique capabilities that they themselves don’t.

We compared notes among the many companies experimenting with social networking and cloud computing to get instant feedback from experts and consumers on their innovation efforts. Over these past ten years I am seeing more corporations advancing their level of maturity in the social media arena, and embracing the conversations that are happening about their industries and about their own brands. Even thought the event has come and gone, we’re still sharing in our social media area of the CoDev website, and you are welcome to check out our Tweets!

It was fascinating to hear how so many have leveraged their own experiences along their journey and learnings form past conferences to achieve success with open innovation. They shared similar but unique stories about what helped them succeed: Engaging global stakeholders; restructuring processes and capabilities; and developing partnerships with suppliers and research centers to access advanced technology solutions.

Partnering to deliver innovation isn’t just a fad, but is a sustainable way of doing business and developing new products.

This morning we’re diving in to workshops, including one that my colleagues Jeff Lindsay and Pat Clusman are leading with me titled, Building the Open Innovation Pyramid.

One of the popular featured of CoDev is the community of innovators we build through social media. The ideas will flow from our attendees for months to come through shared videos, the forum, blogs, groups, a live chat and meet-ups.

Who is here with me?  chief technology officers, vice presidents, managers, and directors of Open Innovation, plus a host of specialists in innovation, product development, R&D, continuous improvement, engineering, manufacturing, and more from a cross section of industries including aerospace, food and beverage, medical devices, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, biotech, oil & gas, electronics, hi-tech, defense and more.

Time: Wednesday, November 10, 2010: 8:30 AM-11:00 AM
Location: Salt Palace Convention Center, Grand Ballroom G, Salt Lake City, UT
Chair: Jeff Lindsay, Director of Solution Development, Innovationedge, Neenah, WI
Co-Chair: Ken Horton, Gore School of Business, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT

Schedule of Papers and Abstracts:
8:30 AM, Paper #406A, “Business Development, IP, and Manufacturing Success: Perspectives From Utah’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership” by David Sorensen, Executive Director of Utah’s Manufacturing Extension Program. (See biographical information below.)

Abstract: The Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Utah has assisted many companies in strengthening their strategy for success and continued growth. We will discuss what it takes to advance your business, including lessons relative to leadership, vision, intellectual property, and coping with changing regulations and policies.

9:10 AM, Paper #406b, “The Role of IP in Successful Startups,” Mike Alder, Director of Technology Transfer, Brigham Young University.

Abstract: Many AIChE members will be involved with a startup at some point in their career. While the capabilities of the management team is of utmost importance, in numerous cases, the success of the startup also depends on the quality of its intellectual property. In this era, an IP-savvy team can take several steps to secure competitive advantage and realize greater value from the technology, products, or services the company offers. This presentation will draw upon experience with many startups and startup teams and will provide guidance to researchers, business leaders, and future entrepreneurs on how to better prepare for success.

9:45 AM, Paper #406c, “An Introduction to IP Law: The Underpinnings of Intellectual Assets,” Ken Horton, Kirton & McConkie, Salt Lake City, UT

Abstract: An understanding of the basics of intellectual property law can help chemical engineers in advancing their own research, in evaluating competitive efforts, in building their own business, or in general advancing their career. This presentation will cover some of the key concepts that engineers should know, including the nature of patents, the different kinds of patents (provisional, utility, design), the role of trademarks and copyrights, what it takes to be patentable, and how changes in patent law may affect your career and business.

10:20 AM, Paper #406d, “Cost-Effective Pursuit of IP in a Down Economy,” by Jonathan Lee

Abstract: How does one get the most protection and benefit from intellectual property when the economy is down? How can patents and other forms of intellectual property be obtained in a cost effective manner when budgets are tight? In this presentation, an experienced patent attorney shares insights into cost effective IP with guidance directed to managers, research leaders, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

Biographical information:

David Sorensen
Mr. Sorensen has over 35 years of experience in a wide variety of technical and managerial assignments requiring comprehensive knowledge in several disciplines relating to engineering, manufacturing, information technology and business systems. He has been directly responsible for major contracts with industry and government agencies and has a proven record of technical competence, customer relations, and business planning in rapidly expanding technical companies. Mr. Sorensen has held increasingly responsible positions in product and service organizations. He is innovative, resourceful, and aggressive in accomplishing assigned responsibilities with major strengths in strategic planning, marketing and management. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science and a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from Brigham Young University.

Since 1995 he’s been the Director of the Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP-Utah), serving primarily the 6,200 manufacturers in the state of Utah. MEP-Utah was selected to initiate and manage the NIST Information Technology Network for over 60 MEP Centers nationwide. Mr. Sorensen is also a BYU adjunct faculty member and the Associate Dean of Technology, Trades and Industry at Utah Valley State College. With a staff of 18, in one year MEP-Utah helped create or save 2,719 jobs in Utah, increased manufacturing sales by more than $121 million and increased employee payroll by more than $84 million.

He’s been the Chairman & CEO for Echo Solutions, a start-up software products and services company; Executive VP of Eyring Research Institute; General Manager of EG&G Services; Director of Engineering at EG&G Idaho Inc.; Manager of Architect Engineering and Construction at Aerojet Nuclear Company and Manager of Power Generation Equipment at Bunker Ramo. He also has experience with GE’s Nuclear Instrumentation as a Senior Applications Engineer, and in engineering positions at Kennecott Copper, Intermountain Industries, and F.C. Torkelson Engineers.

Michael Alder
Mike is Director of Technology Transfer at Brigham Young University, where his work has been nationally recognized by BusinessWeek and others for their success. Mike is also Chair of the Board for WestCAMP Inc. where he has also chaired the National Centers of Excellence (NCOE), a division of WestCAMP. Mike is formerly the CEO of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama. He was also a Venture Partner with Redmont Venture Partners, Inc. He has been heavily involved in the founding of Tranzyme, Inc.; Vaxin, Inc.; Folia, Inc.; Chlorogen, Inc.; Allvivo, Inc. and Cr3, Inc. All but one of these are biotechnology companies (Folia produces specialty biopolymers).

Mr. Alder has 30 years of experience in leading technology-based startup companies. He was previously CEO of Emerging Technology Partners in Birmingham, Alabama from 1997 to 2003. Prior to coming to Alabama in 1994 he co-founded the Grow Utah Fund that focused on creating technology-based businesses. In 1989 he was asked by the Utah Governor to head the State’s Office of Technology Development, which he did for 5 years as its Executive Director, helping bring Utah’s Centers of Excellence programs to national prominence. In 1973 he founded NPI, a plant biotechnology company in Salt Lake City, Utah and served as President, COO and Vice Chairman of that company for 15 years as it grew to over 700 employees.

Ken Horton
Ken Horton is a member of Kirton & McConkie‘s Intellectual Property Practice Section in Salt Lake City. His practice includes domestic and foreign patent prosecution, patent opinions, intellectual property litigation (including both state and federal court actions), domestic and foreign trademark prosecution, trademark opinions, copyrights, trade secrets, intellectual property evaluations and due diligence, as well as technology and intellectual property agreements. Mr. Horton has extensive experience in both pharmaceutical and semiconductor technologies. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of intellectual property law and strategy, speaking both at the 2007 and 2010 A.I.C.H.E. annual conferences and the 2009 A.C.S. annual conference. Additionally, Mr. Horton is an Associate Professor in these topics in the MBA Technology Management Program at the Gore School of Business of Westminster College.

Jonathan Lee
Jonathan Lee is a registered patent attorney and a member of the Utah State Bar practicing at ALG (AdvantEdge Law Group). His practice focuses on adding real-world value to companies, both large and small, by acquiring, securing, and protecting intellectual property rights.

Mr. Lee has prepared and successfully prosecuted hundreds of patent applications throughout his career, primarily in the electrical, electro-mechanical, and computer engineering fields. He currently helps a number of Fortune 1000 companies manage and develop their domestic and worldwide patent portfolios. He also regularly counsels clients in other aspects of intellectual property law, including litigation, licensing, and opinion work, as well as due diligence examinations, copyrights and trademarks, and patent reexamination proceedings.

Prior to joining ALG, Mr. Lee worked for nationally recognized law firms in Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mr. Lee was recently selected as a Mountain States Rising Star by Super Lawyers, a peer-reviewed publication.

This week Amyris announced a record number of deals and partnerships for a single week (a record among bioenergy companies, according to Biofuels Digest). These partnerships include P&G, Total, Soliance, Cosan, M&G Finanziaria, and Shell:

Amyris has taken it up a notch with a series of stunners surrounding its synthetic farsenene, which it has named Biofene – the first product that Amyris is seeking to produce at commercial scale.

Beyond its success this week with Biofene announcements, which are the basis for the P&G, M&G and Soliance partnerships — there are the broader arrangements with Cosan to develop a platform in renewable chemicals, and the equity agreement with Total that will provide needed capital as well as a broader platform for Amyris’s expansion into hydrocarbon fuels.

The mysterious agreement with Shell, regarding diesel, is one to watch. The decidedly vague disclosure was buried in Amyris’ amended S-1A registration statement, but not otherwise mentioned in a flurry of press releases from the company as it promotes its expansion in this pre-IPO environment. Shell Western Trading & Supply is one of 17 Shell trading companies that buy and sell to customers within and outside of Shell.

This news shows an interesting example of companies forming partnerships with an innovative start-up with great technology and apparently highly valuable IP. According to my Patbase search, Amyris has 21 patent families, quite a large number for such a young company. They clearly have been active and aggressive in pursuing patent protection, and those patents are critical for the meaningful partnerships they are now forming. It’s a great unfolding story of open innovation and technology transfer.

The story extends beyond the US. They have operations in Brazil, for example, which is one of the world’s hotbeds for bioenergy, bioproducts, and collaborative innovation.

However, as with all metrics, the details of how IPM is calculated come into play and may bring unintended consequences. For IPM, the clock doesn’t tick when a lane is closed or, more specifically, when the cashier’s terminal is in “secure” mode. Shut down the terminal to the “terminal secure” state and the clock stops, something that some cashiers use to their advantage while checking out a customer.

A new manager at one store is pushing for IPM scores of at least 30 for all cashiers, but as one cashier explained, the only way that you can achieve that high of a score is to routinely go to “terminal secure.” If the cashier has to help with the bagging or do other tasks that reduce IPM, they can secure the terminal and then reactivate it before they continue scanning goods. That gives a higher IPM score, but the back and forth of securing and reactivating the terminals actually SLOWS DOWN the real work because it involves extra steps that eat up valuable time. By focusing on IPM as a proxy for productivity, productivity can actually decline. Lines can get longer, not shorter.

A further consequence of securing a terminal is that the customer may need to swipe his or her credit card a second time. The card readers in each checkout lane allow customers to swipe their credit card during the scanning of goods, but when the cashier switches to terminal secure mode, the swiped credit card information is discarded and the customer will have the annoyance of having to swipe a second time. By focusing on IPM as a proxy for customer satisfaction, the annoyances to the customer and the time to check out actually increase.

Unintended consequences of metrics can easily follow similar patterns when it comes to innovation, intellectual assets, and new product development. Leaders need to step back and observe the impact of their metrics on those in the ranks and on the actual performance of the company. A carefully selected basket of metrics with frequent reality checks are needed to avoid hindering real productivity and innovation with your good intentions.

Innovationedge can help your organization explore the impact of its metrics and find a better bundle to help you deliver on your business plan. Metrics are one of the factors we can help you explore as we work with you on your technology roadmap or your Ascent to Collaboration™ (your strategic plan to realize your open innovation potential). Give us a call today! We’re at 920-967-0470.

Yesterday our panel discussion focused on how to create an enriched organizational culture, so that companies can foster innovation outside of their traditional internal R&D departments.

We know the challenges of creating and honing that culture of open innovation, and we discussed how to forward-thinking business leaders can advance their technologies and develop new products or services with outside sources.

There were five of us from all over the world taking part in this panel titled, “Open Innovation – From Marginal to Mainstream.” My co-panelists included JP Rangaswami, Chief Scientist, BT Group, and Karim Lakhani, Assistant professor, Technology and Operations Management Unit, Harvard Business School.

The discussion was incredible and inspiring, and I enjoyed sharing my experiences in this space among other thought leaders on this dynamic panel!

The Bionic Glove

The most recent issue of Consumer Goods Technology has a cover story that indirectly reveals some secrets of successful innovation. Alarice Padilla’s “Game-Changing Innovation: The maker of Louisville Slugger Revolutionizes the Sporting Good Market with Bionic Glove Technology” describes the rise of a new sports glove that gives athletes better control. The glove has a unique padding system that fills recesses in the fingers and palm for better contact with whatever the hand is holding. This results in a better, more relaxed grip.

What I’d like to emphasize is that this innovation was the result of successful open innovation that began with a random encounter. Bill Clark of Hillerich and Bradsby Company, the company behind the Louisville Slugger and Powerbuilt Golf, was visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum when he met James Kleinert, a famous orthopedic hand surgeon. They began talking, and this would later lead to collaboration and the successful introduction of the only sports glove on the market designed by an orthopedic surgeon.

The real secrets for success behind this story, in my opinion, involve efforts to build and maintain relationships. First, Bill Clark wasn’t sitting at his desk. He got out into an environment where he could meet outsiders that might share some interest in the kind of products his company made. Then he took the initiative to talk with others and learn from them. When he found someone interesting through a chance encounter, he obviously took the initiative to follow up and keep that relationship alive long enough to explore the possibility of learning from or working with the new contact. I wish more had been reported on these steps, but it’s clear that it began with a seemingly random encounter enhanced with follow-up and and a willingness to collaborate for innovation.

Maybe Hillerich and Bradsby Company just got very lucky, or maybe they actively encourage open innovation approaches that motivate innovation leaders to get out and meet people, follow up, and collaborate when it makes sense. I hope the latter is the case. Whether it is or not, all of us can learn from this success. Creating an open innovation culture in your company and in your life will greatly increase the chances of random meetings leading to non-random success in innovation.

Want to add the power of successful open innovation and enhanced relationship building to your company? Our experience, tools, and training methodology may be exactly what you need. Innovationedge is a leader in open innovation and in building a culture of innovation within companies. We also have some remarkable diagnostic tools for understanding where you are today and what gaps you have in your internal and external relationships. Give us a call today and let us help you get a more advanced grip on innovation.

When you understand that innovation requires social adoption, you’ll understand why we work so hard to help our clients understand the relationships involved in their ecosystem, whether its internal relationships between teams in a corporation, or the ecosystem of partners, customers, and others outside the corporation.

Meghan Kallman, Marketing & Communications Manager of Prize4Life, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, kindly shared some information with me about their inspiring innovation efforts. Here is the information she provided:

I would like to share with you the case of Avichai Kremer, co-founder and CEO of Prize4Life, Inc. Then a student at Harvard Business School, Kremer discovered in 2004 that he had ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

A computer-science engineer and ex-captain in the Israeli army, he had planned to graduate, work as a manager in a hi-tech company, and raise a family. Those plans changed drastically when he was told he would have 2-5 years to live, and that the medical establishment could do nothing for him. Kremer’s business perspective sparked his interest in the economics of ALS therapies, and inspired him to use his Harvard training to work for a cure.

Little is known about what causes ALS and only a few companies develop ALS drugs, so Kremer and two of his Harvard colleagues queried scientists and industry executives about the gaps that have prevented researchers from finding a cure. Companies said that they needed some basic research tools to reduce the cost of the development, like a biomarker – a better way to track disease progression. So Kremer and his classmates began Prize4Life, Inc., a non-profit organization employing business theories to stimulate research, which announced in 2006 that they would give $1 million to anyone who could come up with such a biomarker. The ALS Biomarker Prize program recently awarded $100,000 in progress prizes, and the organization’s second prize, the Avi Kremer ALS Treatment Prize, hits its one-year anniversary in October 2009.

While prizes are the visible core of our results-oriented model, we are also conscious of the need to create a vibrant and supportive arena in which our participating teams can effectively compete. Prize4Life has thus created a series of innovative projects and partnerships, piggybacking on its groundbreaking prize model, to ensure that all competing teams equal opportunity to be successful.

As one example of such partnership: in June 2009, Prize4Life and the Alzheimer Research Forum announced the launch of a new ALS-focused internet portal known as the ALS Forum (http://www.researchALS.org). Initial reaction to the new web portal has been swift and positive. The site offers ALS researchers around the world a one-stop access point for cutting edge research news and unique web-based resources. We also have designed and developed a manual to help researchers design their animal trials, and are currently designing and developing a database of genes associated with ALS that we intend to make available to researchers.

About Prize4Life
Prize4Life was founded by a group of Harvard Business School students when one of them, Avi Kremer, was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 29. Prize4Life works to accelerate the discovery of a treatment and a cure for ALS by using powerful incentives to attract new people and ideas, and to leverage existing efforts and expertise in the ALS field. Among other program initiatives, the organization currently administers the ALS Biomarker Prize Challenge, the Avi Kremer ALS Treatment Prize, and the ALS Forum.

THE NEXT ALS BREAKTHROUGH COULD BE YOURS

Meghan also shared with me an example of a successful outreach effort using the competition model. “We actually awarded $50,000 to a dermatologist who had never studied ALS before, and who was intrigued by the prize model, and who submitted a winning entry, which is a testament to the potential of the prize model itself.” For the complete press release with much additional information, see the press release, “Prize4Life Awards Prizes for ALS Biomarker Challenge to InnoCentive Solvers: Extends $1Million Challenge Seeking ALS Biomarker” (PDF).

Further examples of great collaboration can be seen in their press release, “Prize4Life and The Jackson Laboratory partner in fight against ALS
Non-profits join forces to provide researchers with new preclinical resources” (PDF). This describes a partnership with The Jackson Laboratory (JAX®), the world’s leading provider of mouse models, to provide preclinical resources for ALS research. Together, Prize4Life and JAX® have prepared a comprehensive training manual to enable researchers to more effectively use the SOD1 mouse model in the fight against ALS.

Their website is http://www.prize4life.org.

Want to Help?
If you would like to help, Meghan told me that there are many opportunities. “We always need donations and fundraisers (this is the link), but we also have folks who host events for us, who blog on our behalf (on their blogs or on ours), who reach out to scientists who may want to compete for our prizes, to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, to link to us on their sites, the list goes on! We have an exciting event coming up here in Boston, for those who are local–Boston’s pro lacrosse team will be featuring us at ‘Heroes Awareness Night’ at the Boston TD Garden on February 6, and donating a percentage of the proceeds to our efforts. If anyone is on the east coast and wants to attend, they should click here:http://bit.ly/512shV. Anyone interested can contact me directly, mkallman at prize4life dot org.

A great example of collaborative innovation in action, with bonus points for using innovation competitions and having altruistic goals. ALS is a terrible disease and needs more attention in the quest for cure.

From the pre-conference workshops designed to give you a quick immersion in skills and tools, to the roster of thought-leading keynote speakers and the wide range of case presentations, this event has it all. The biggest challenge for most attendees will be deciding where they’ll spend their time, and who will they try to connect with during networking times.

Now I really want to spend a moment with an open message to anyone still sitting on the fence about CoDev2010.  Success in business and life is usually about the decisions we make, and I want you to be fully informed before you decide to attend CoDev2010. If you decide not to attend, here are some of the some things you’re missing out on:

• Access to global leaders in open innovation for advice, education, and practical how-to’s on approaches, skills, organization structures, technology and more.
• Opportunities to get direct answers to your most challenging issues from some of the most experienced practitioners on the planet
• Great opportunities for networking, whether you’re a manufacturer or marketer looking for coaches to get you started, or consultants trying to reach your market.
• Opportunities for advancing your benchmarking efforts by connecting with peers who may be further down a similar path.
• A down-loadable executive summary as well as a complete reference binder of all the materials presented.

Are you convinced yet that this is an event you can’t afford to miss? What’s the ROI of something essential to the future vitality of your organization? If you’re still unsure whether CoDev2010 is a smart use of your time and money, here are a few more benefits attendees will receive:

• Learn about key strategies for implementing a corporate global open innovation initiative
• Discover how to recognize and foster the types of skills required to make your open innovation initiatives successful.
• Witness the steps taken at Whirlpool to transition from embedded innovation to open innovation.
• Find out how IBM enables a more rapid, aggressive innovation capability among its partners within its Global Innovation Outlook Program.
• See how others have reinvented their open innovation models in the face of changing business ecosystems and difficult-to-identify potential business partners
• Get an early look at Georgia Institute of Technology’s plans to foster an open innovation environment that invites ideas and experimentation while also engendering trust, lasting relationships and mutually rewarding results within its Future Media Initiative.
• Learn how you could structure a win/win collaborative partnership with universities, federal labs and research centers.
• Last, but this can’t be forgotten, learn how to measure the success of your open innovation efforts

I hope this has helped to whet your appetite for the kind of learning that can help power meaningful change through your organizations. The challenges to be adept at open innovation are many. But the rewards, especially in an economy that promises more dynamic change in the coming years, continue to beckon. I encourage you to make the commitment to be part of the force of change propelling your organization to the front of your industry.

The experience is right around the corner. See you all in Scottsdale!