Outsourcing innovation is an exciting way to increase innovation competitiveness. Utilizing organizations like an innovation agency can allow firms to focus on other business areas. The results are increased efficiency, improved quality, faster innovation implementation, reduced innovation risk, and increased flexibility.

Outsourcing innovation can be a powerful tool to help companies speed up their growth. By understanding the risks and challenges, companies can set themselves up for success.

5 Outsourcing Models

1.     Project-Based Innovation

Useful for specific projects, specialized skills, or testing out new relationships.

2.     Joint Venture for Innovation

This collaboration can benefit companies wanting to share the risks and rewards associated with innovation.

3.     Innovation Strategic Alliance.

Beneficial for companies wanting to combine resources and ideation expertise to create a competitive advantage.

4.     Innovation Licensing Agreement.

Agreements allow access to another company's technology or expertise.

5.     Innovation by Acquisition.

Allows companies to add innovation capabilities or enter a new market quickly.

Innovation Outsourcing: Successes and Failures

In Apple's work with Foxconn, it outsourced its product manufacturing. The outsourcing allowed Apple to focus on design and development, while Foxconn created innovations to produce the products. As a result, Apple could bring new products to market quickly and efficiently.

On the flip side, BlackBerry's work with TAT failed. TAT was supposed to take over UI/UX development, helping recapture market share from Apple and Android. TAT and Blackberry could not develop an operating system fast enough to keep up with the competition. BlackBerry lost market share, and both companies had to fire staff.

Keys to Successfully Outsourcing Innovation

1. Have a clear understanding of what the company wants to achieve.
2.  Have a strong relationship and be able to work together effectively.
3.  Ensure companies can trust each other.
4.  Ensure both parties are willing to invest the necessary time and resources.
5. Look for companies with a proven track record of innovation.
6. Understand the company's business model and how it aligns with yours. 
7. Understand their capabilities, including strengths, weaknesses, tools, and processes. 
8. Understand their team's culture and skills. 

Design plays a vital role in our lives and is ever-evolving. In the past, it meant designing or planning something. In the early 1800s, the term was synonymous with art, and in the late 1900s, it referred to creating products or services. Over time, design has gone from being a specialized field tied to specific design movements to a more holistic approach. Now, it's a way of thinking that considers the entire design process from start to finish. In today's rapid and ever-changing world, businesses need constant innovation. This is where design thinking shines through. 

What is Design Thinking, and Why is it Important?

Design thinking is a process that allows the design of products, services, and environments to be developed in an iterative design cycle with continuous feedback. It helps designers create innovative solutions by applying constraints like time and money.

Solving for constraints is an iterative process of design, testing, and refinement called the "design thinking cycle." Innovators use this process to create solutions no matter the constraint. It focuses on a user-centric approach used in many fields. Design thinking is an adaptable process that can design for changing needs.

5 Skills Needed for The Design Thinking Process

1. Creativity

Creativity allows designers to develop new ideas and find innovative solutions to problems.

2. Problem-Solving

The design thinking approach, based on the idea that there is no one right solution to a problem, is vital to come up with multiple possible solutions.

3. Critical Thinking

In design thinking, designers need to think critically to determine great ideas with practical solutions. 

4. Collaboration

Designers need to collaborate to brainstorm and come up with the best possible solutions. 

5. Communication

Designers must communicate effectively to share ideas, get feedback, collaborate, and explain ideas to management and stakeholders. 

The Future of Design Thinking and Innovation

1. Healthcare:

Healthcare design can improve patient safety, increase access to care, and reduce costs.

2. Education:

Design can improve student learning by making it more accessible, enjoyable, and affordable. 

3. Transportation:

Design innovation in transportation can improve safety, reduce congestion, and increase efficiency.

4. Technology:

One of the main goals of design in technology should be a human-centered design to improve usability.

The science of creativity has many theories and ideas that seek to explain it. New approaches and models are constantly emerging, which provide some insight but are not exhaustive. One theory suggests that creativity combines cognitive processes, including knowledge, imagination, etc. However, proof shows that experts and those with fresh eyes can often be creative in the same area.  

Creativity Models

The four-phase model comprises the following phases: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. The preparation consists of gathering information and materials, developing a plan, and finding inspiration. Incubation is utilizing deep thought and focus on developing the idea. Illumination is where the idea's potential is visible, and the execution around it is understood. Verification consists of evaluating the worth of the idea to those working on it and those it will impact.

The creative abilities model outlines five creative abilities: fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and synthesis. Fluency (ideation) is the ability to produce several rapid ideas, allowing for exploration and experimentation. Flexibility allows people to adapt to new situations and environments. To measure originality, compare your idea to existing ideas, research patents, etc. Elaboration is taking an initial idea and making it more comprehensive and complex. Synthesis is taking ideas and concepts from different sources and combining them into something new.  

AI and Creativity

Some people believe that AI could eventually become creative. Because there is no absolute definition of creativity, it's difficult if this will come true. In the meantime, researchers are working on ways to make AI more creative, such as by developing algorithms that can better identify and combine novelty and usefulness.

Creativity and Mental Illness

People correlate creativity with mental illness because many creatives have spoken about their mental illness struggles. Some studies have found links between specific mental illnesses and increased levels of creativity. The currently available evidence does not support the myth that creativity and mental illness are linked. 

Chronic innovation critics are people and processes that kill new ideas before they can thrive. They prevent you from trying new things and learning from failures. The criticisms may result in your organization getting stuck in its current state. Innovation critics love to point out why an idea will fail. These people are often the ones who have been with the organization the longest and are the most resistant to change. All organizations need people to push back and challenge ideas because it improves them. The key is to combat them with specific, objective, and actionable criticism.

Four Reasons Innovation Critics Kill Ideas

1.     The Ego Response

“Oh, I already thought of that a long time ago.”

“Somebody else has already come up with that idea.”

Your idea makes these people feel threatened, but you can strategically turn things around. Appeal to their ego by infusing any feedback they give into your idea pitch to gain their support.

2.     The Fatigued Response

“You’ll never get approval.”

“We tried that before.”

Innovation critics are often burned out from having their innovations rejected. The key is to find a way to demonstrate that your idea will not play out their worst fears about repeating past experiences.

3.     The No-Risk Response

“Not enough return on investment.”

“We can’t afford that.”

Some innovation critics fear risk as it can negatively affect their careers. Get them comfortable with risk by breaking your innovation into smaller steps.

4.     The Comfort Response

“We’ve always done it this way.”

“Our customer likes it this way.”

These critics may have outdated thinking about what success looks like. It’s up to you to convince them that what makes up success may well have changed.

The Intent of The Criticism

With each of the four responses to your ideas, these critics can be constructive or destructive. These will be dependent on their intent and how feedback is received. Identify which of these responses you typically get, and then try to understand their motivations. If people tend to dismiss your ideas, try to explain your vision in more detail or share data supporting your case.

To overcome chronic innovation critics, encourage a diversity of perspectives, make it safe to fail, and reward innovation. This action will help to create a culture of innovation within an organization.