Not Invented Here...

At Mission Field, we pride ourselves on being entrepreneurial in our approach while understanding and solving for the requirements of our “Big” established CPG clients.  And that includes understanding how to help overcome that “not invented here” syndrome.  Accepting innovation ideas from outside the organization can be challenging, especially for people in functions whose careers are built around inventing new things.

While it’s impossible to distill the successful adoption of open innovation into a succinct list of success factors, here are some thought starters and things to consider when you look outside your company to develop new products to drive growth…

·        Have an aligned innovation strategy that incorporates the goals and end deliverables of open innovation and how that is different from what internal innovation is focused on.   

·        Establish internal processes and models for managing open innovation that integrates internal R&D, Finance, Manufacturing and Marketing into one ecosystem with the external partner(s). Make sure R&D is involved up front and is leveraged appropriately throughout the process.

·        Align on the Legal aspects up front. Ensure clarity on who owns the IP.

·        Successful open innovation requires the right team and the right organizational culture.  It’s a collaborative process and requires people who can connect knowledge from different sources and find ways to bring it all together. 

·        Overcoming “not invented here” requires top-down direction and clear alignment on the need for business growth and the desire to look outside the company to expand capacity and bring in new knowledge and capabilities.

We’d be happy to talk with you more about how we successfully partner with our clients to bring new ideas to life. Give us a call or drop us a line.