Innovating socially: the old and the new

I'm as evangelical an advocate of social technology and processes as anyone. However, in the work I do to build 'social businesses', I'm regularly reminded of the importance of not throwing the old (pre-social) baby with the new (social) bathwater. Social technology is a great exploiter of the power that exists in the connected world we inhabit but it doesn't mean that all that came before is irrelevant. Indeed, it is often the coupling of what we've always done well with the power of social that yields real value in the organisation.

Reading +Tim Kastelle's excellent piece on 'Why your innovation contest won't work' provides a topical illustration of the importance of keeping the old with the new. Tim's thesis is that the current vogue of running collaborative 'ideation' activities - contests, jams, etc - crowdsourcing ideas through social technology, detracts from the really difficult part of innovation: turning ideas into reality. He believes that organisations focus on this part simply because it's easy.

And how right he is. Done badly, crowdsourced ideation can be the technological equivalent of that crime of innovation: the staff suggestion box! Placed ceremoniously in reception, covered in last year's Christmas wrapping paper, it sits there waiting for employees to earnestly surrender their latest epiphany to 'Management' in the firm belief that it will be acted on and transform the business. The result: an overwhelming amount of ideas and a rapid realisation that no-one had thought through what they were going to do with them.

As Tim says "Innovation is the process of idea management". The key determinant of success is what happens after ideation. This is where that traditional, pre-social activity comes in. Taking the time to establish good old innovation governance and funding mechanisms means that ideas can be taken through to material benefit as quickly as possible. It's the discipline of the (old-school) stage-gate process that makes innovation work.

Despite what Tim says, I believe that effective ideation is as key to successful innovation as what happens after it. Tapping into a source of great, relevant ideas is essential for innovative organisations. And, with a bit of pre-social thinking, social ideation can enhance your innovation process. Two specific elements make a big difference. Firstly, constrain the ideation - explain clearly and persistently to the crowd what your stage gate parameters are so that they focus their ideas accordingly. Secondly, involve those instrumental in implementing the ideas (the budget holders, the customers, etc) from the outset of the ideation process. And social technology helps bring all this together, connecting the crowd and the decision-makers. Dare I say it, connecting the new with the old!

photo:  Will Hastings