Open Innovation Blueprint: Commandment 4

This continues my on-going blog on mapping out a blueprint for implementing Open Innovation. The first entry in this series talked about the framework I am using to analyze this question, the Ten Commandments of Change Management. Open Innovation is a big change, and therefore requires a change management program. In today's blog, I'll cover the fourth element of the framework:

4. Create a sense of urgency
While it’s bad to launch Open Innovation along with a big reduction in force, a management shake-up can create the right sense of urgency. P&G, Dow-Corning, and 3M all had been on the decline for a long time when they began to open up. A sudden shake-up in management high into the chain of command helped instigate the change.

Another effective technique is to wait till your stock has plummeted by half and then scream for change—it won’t be hard to get others to scream along with you. Since long term investors largely value stock based on revenue growth potential, which stems from innovation, it should be easy for your people to connect the dots between Open Innovation, long-term revenue growth, stock price increase, and ultimately personal payoff if they are employee-owners (also a good practice).

I'll mention again, in the spirit of being open, all of these ideas are open for discussion, so please share your thoughts!