Ideas Alone Are Not Innovation
Collecting ideas is not innovation. There are plenty of software platforms and options for generating, sorting, and prioritizing ideas from the crowd. You can Google innovation management software. You could also check out our Innovation Tools Database to review some options like IdeaWake, BrightIdeas, Spigit, Rever, Wide Ideas, and others. All of these offer a way to capture and prioritize ideas to give appropriate feedback.
Idea Processes and Systems
The challenge most companies encounter is not with the tools. But rather with having the right processes and systems in place to turn these ideas into outcomes once they are captured. There are thousands of reasons why ideas stumble and fail along the path. It’s impossible at the earliest stages to know which ones will make it through the gauntlet. Therefore, it is crucial to have a robust and ongoing pipeline of ideas to evaluate, vet, and try.
Broaden the Number of Ideas Funded
In other words, companies need to broaden the number of ideas they try, test, and move forward. Or kill them and move on to the next one. We’ve seen corporate innovators only fund a handful of ideas and expect to have one of them become an Uber or Airbnb. While it can happen, the odds are you probably need to be funding hundreds.
Core Ideas vs. Transformational Ideas
Ideas also need to be sourced across the portfolio of many ideas. Ideas arising from the core business are likely to have more certainty and actionability with more immediate upside opportunities. In contrast, transformational or disruptive ideas may be riskier. But they may also have more considerable outsized return opportunities. They may actually take less time to test, build, and implement than in years past, due to the accelerating forces of change and new tools at your disposal.
Take Action to Transform Innovation Ideas to Outcomes
Above all, if you want to foster innovation, recognize that you must take action to transform ideas into outcomes. The idea collection is just the first step. How do you transform ideas into outcomes? Let us know at brian@insideoutside.io.
More Innovation Tips
- Organizations Need Innovation Accelerators
- Increase your Innovation Risk Appetite
- Urgency: Demonstrate Action and Experimentation
FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER & RISK TOOLS
Finally, get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE
In addition, you can also search every Inside Outside Innovation Podcast by Topic and Company. For more innovations resources, check out IO’s Innovation Article Database, Innovation Tools Database, Innovation Book Database, and Innovation Video Database.
