![\"Collaboration\"](\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Collaboration-710x474.jpg\")
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I have been testing perspectives on\u00a0open innovation I shared in my previous post<\/a>\u00a0here on Sideways Thoughts. Over\u00a0the last month, I have had some fascinating\u00a0conversations with leaders in:<\/p>\n Questions that come up in our conversations\u00a0include:<\/p>\n The conversations are\u00a0reinforcing two characteristics of collaboration inherent to\u00a0the\u00a0emerging\u00a0open innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n First<\/strong>, it is naturally occurring. Collaborative\u00a0models can be seen as an expression of the\u00a0invisible hand of the market moving\u00a0in the direction of least resistance for maximum gain. Leave us\u00a0alone in a room with ourselves\u00a0and we\u00a0will most likely work with each other to figure stuff out.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>, culture plays a significant role\u00a0in effective open\u00a0innovation structures. \u00a0A common barrier to getting people around a table or playing well with each other\u00a0is the natural fear-based response inherent to survival mechanisms of established institutions. If we are all in a room together, whoever\u00a0thinks everyone else is out to get them probably won’t play well with others.<\/p>\n Organisations that best capitalise on open innovation frameworks are those that can balance risk-aversion with a\u00a0shared aspirational vision within the competitive framework.<\/p>\n This is a premise I have been testing in my conversations, framed with three forms of:\u00a0corporate, social sectors \/ hubs, and the open market.<\/p>\n (I repeat the caveat from the original post\u00a0that the forms are not cut-and-dry.\u00a0The interfaces and players are constantly emerging and evolving. However, it is a place to start.)<\/p>\n There are two narratives that emerge\u00a0in the corporate space.<\/p>\n One narrative is a fear-based response<\/strong>, often seen in long-standing, risk-adverse corporations or government institutions. Individuals in these organisations can be 30+year veterans\u00a0in a profession that may end well before their career. \u00a0The organisation may\u00a0be delivering a service that will be made redundant at a faster rate than the organisation can adapt. The proverbial ice age is coming and there are not enough generations available for the\u00a0dominant dinosaur to\u00a0alter its\u00a0DNA fast enough.<\/p>\n A second narrative\u00a0can be described as\u00a0constructive<\/strong>, from the perspective of a\u00a0large institution that can leverage a wealth of\u00a0domain knowledge.\u00a0Individuals are emotionally resilient and making external connections to add\u00a0new forms of thinking to their substantial repertoire. \u00a0The organisation is collectively investing in new skills to prepare for a range of likely scenarios. A disruption is coming, and\u00a0they have the experience and\u00a0scale to best position themselves as a market player.<\/p>\n The narrative can define the nature of the collaboration. Leaders describe this not as an\u00a0either\/or proposition, but as a continuum made up of\u00a0pockets\u00a0of both perspectives in the same organisation. The narrative can also change, as leaders make a conscious choice about the future they want to create for\u00a0themselves and their teams.<\/p>\n A fear-based response is more likely to engage in open innovation frameworks as a transaction. Activities such as\u00a0hackathons or an ideas crowdsourcing initiative are seen as stand-alone projects. Engagements with third-parties such as the\u00a0education sector or supply chains can be on one-way provisions of service rather than a sharing of mutually beneficial ideas.<\/p>\n The second constructive narrative is more likely to take a holistic approach to\u00a0collaboration\u00a0activities, integrating and aligning to strategic direction. Examples involving\u00a0competitive collaboration include engaging with competitors to educate the market and create demand for new market disruptions. Market engagement is early and frequent to test ideas rather than waiting to\u00a0have all the answers.<\/p>\n The social “third space” sector is an area I am most excited about, as I believe\u00a0that it is only through our collective wisdom that we will address the complexities of the challenges we\u00a0have created for ourselves.<\/p>\n The social sector can experience\u00a0different\u00a0drivers which affect the nature of collaboration. The quest for funding from sponsorship, donations and grants has unique nuances that are different to competing for clients or consumers. Public sentiment, policy direction, and\u00a0volunteer engagement are just some of the dominant concerns.<\/p>\n Collaboration can be more prominent in the third sector\u00a0as the resources are\u00a0often not available\u00a0for any single\u00a0player to address the scope of change on their own. There is also a greater need for collaboration to\u00a0coordinate and align services between two organisations doing “good”\u00a0that may inadvertently create negative conflict competing\u00a0to deliver\u00a0the same social outcomes.<\/p>\n The social sector has a valuable role in\u00a0fostering open innovation collaborations, as they\u00a0can sit outside the competitive frameworks of a capitalistic\u00a0profit motive. The combined form of collaboration I hear from\u00a0leaders is one that taps into the rigour of\u00a0commercial drivers from the corporate sector under a scope of shared purpose inherent to the social space.<\/p>\n The\u00a0open market acts as a case study in\u00a0complex adaptive systems, evolving and self-learning towards dynamic outcomes in a rapidly changing environment. It is messy, uncertain, and\u00a0exciting.<\/p>\n One\u00a0challenge moving forward is to\u00a0address the risk associated with ‘messy’ and ‘uncertain’ while maintaining ‘exciting’. The diagram above risks becoming one big blob as market leaders emerge and acquire or merge capability and capacity in a quest for consistency and dominance.<\/p>\n This will \u00a0be a careful balance as\u00a0norms are established and approaches become institutionalised. \u00a0It does not take long for those who were\u00a0the disruptors of the past to become the inhibitors of the present and irrelevant in the future.<\/p>\n Collaboration is natural in this space, as actors\u00a0are often unable to leverage existing capital of brand identity or market momentum. The\u00a0opportunity is to\u00a0ensure collaboration\u00a0includes existing institutions.<\/p>\n A common\u00a0frustration from start-up founders can be the bureaucracy involved with engaging with established institutions.\u00a0From the other\u00a0perspective, start-up founders can\u00a0be reticent to\u00a0tap into\u00a0established channels for fear of getting lost or adsorbed.<\/p>\n We are seeing collaboration mature in this space.\u00a0Large corporations set\u00a0up innovation teams in open market shared working spaces. Government and academic innovation hubs are popping\u00a0in both city and\u00a0regional areas.\u00a0A key to the success of these initiatives will be ensuring the nature of the\u00a0collaboration\u00a0avoids the\u00a0protective fear-based response that prompted the emergence of the initiative in the first place.<\/p>\n As soon as you have people in a room, you have culture. Your\u00a0culture will determine how effective\u00a0your\u00a0collaboration\u00a0will be. What this looks like\u00a0varies based on your context (start-up, corporation, not for profit), but the principles remain.<\/p>\n What we see and I hear leaders reflect is that:<\/p>\n Being intentional about your narrative and\u00a0perspective,\u00a0replacing a fear-based response with a realistic shared aspiration, fosters\u00a0more effective\u00a0collaboration and improved shared outcomes.<\/p>\n This\u00a0conversation is ongoing, a process of constant learning and exploring. How does innovation happen in the\u00a0organisation? How are others\u00a0involved from outside the organisation? And what is the nature of the collaboration you experience?<\/p>\n In the spirit of collaboration, I welcome your input.<\/p>\n\n
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Corporate<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nSocial sector<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/m.c.lnkd.licdn.com\/mpr\/mpr\/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAUeAAAAJDFiNWE4NjQ5LWQ4NzUtNGMxZC05MzI5LTk1ZTZiMTk2YWMxYQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOpen market<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/m.c.lnkd.licdn.com\/mpr\/mpr\/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAPMAAAAJDEwMzRmNWExLTcyOWEtNDhkYi04YTIyLTg1MWNmYzY0ZWU0MQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe nature of collaboration<\/h2>\n
Image credit:<\/strong> Spiral of Hands by lostinthewoods –\u00a0https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/4YJRV3<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"