Procter & Gamble’s CEO Alan G. Lafley is often quoted as
saying "half
the company's ideas must come from the outside." Indeed,
P&G is a leader in external technology and innovation scouting, and
it is paying off handsomely. In one respect Lafley was
restating an important insight voiced by Thomas Edison about a
century ago: “Your idea has to be original
only in its adaptation to the problem you're working on.”
Why? Going outside can both speed up and improve technical
development, free up scarce internal resources for other high-impact
activities, and lead to greater innovation.
The key is being open (versus threatened) and knowing where to
look, how to qualify, and how to apply new externally-developed
technologies for rapid commercialization – at a profit to your firm.
Rather than relying on ad hoc and sometimes haphazard approaches
to technology sourcing, many firms are adopting formal Technology
Scouting programs to provide a structured, focused approach to
identifying and acquiring new technology.
If your company is seeking to accelerate or improve its technical
development, take advantage of this session in which Dr. Jay Paap
–will draw on his 30 plus years of work experience to provide real
world examples of both effective – and less effective – sourcing
initiatives.
