Need, Speed, and Greed

5

So Long, Silo

Thanks to the democratization of innovation, the smartest people in your business don’t work for you any longer. That, in a nutshell, explains the big move toward open and networked models of innovation at companies, nonprofits, and even governments today.

This trend promises many benefits, but caution is in order. Firms that embrace user-driven models of development risk being led down the garden trail of gold-plating offerings for the best customers, a classic trap that leaves an incumbent exposed to disruption by cheaper innovators. Crowdsourcing has produced such marvels as Wikipedia and Linux, but there is evidence that it can tap the mediocrity and stupidity of crowds, not just their wisdom. And incentive prizes, while ...