Alarm bells are going off with many current and former United States intelligence officials because they are increasingly warning – the $90 billion U.S. spy apparatus is falling behind their adversaries like Russia and China.
The reason for their concern?
The U.S. has not embraced collecting “open-source” intelligence.
Specifically, officials and experts state the U.S. hasn’t invested enough people or money in analyzing publicly available data and has not been taking advantage of advanced technologies that can produce accurate low-cost intelligence.
Commercial satellite imagery, social media, and other online data now make it easier to obtain what was once top-secret information. China has used various open-source intelligence to acquire vast data on Americans. When that is coupled with the risk presented by the widely used Chinese app TikTok the concern is increased.
Open-Source Versus Traditional Intelligence
A 2017 test of using readily available information was conducted by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in which a human team competed against a computer using software to identify Chinese surface-to-air missile sites using commercial imagery.
According to Stanford University professor Amy Zegart both the humans and the computer identified 90% of the sites, but the computer needed just 42 minutes — and it took the human team 80 times longer.
Currently daily open-source intelligence analyses on Russian and Ukrainian military tactics are being produced by the Institute for the Study of War by using commercial satellites, online posts, and other open sources. These reports are widely used by lawmakers and intelligence officials.
“There is a lot of open-source capability that the U.S. intelligence community can pretty much rely on to be there,” said Frederick Kagan, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who oversees the creation of those reports.
Kagan said, “What it needs to do is figure out how to leverage that ecosystem instead of trying to buy it.”
How Your Company Can Utilize Open-Source Innovation
How does open-source intelligence apply to you and your business?
Open-source intelligence is a low cost, innovative way to gather intelligence.
Likewise, open-source innovation is a low cost, effective way to apply innovation to your company because most companies cannot afford to develop an internal Research and Development team or pay outside companies to assist with developing innovations.
Four Open-Sources of Innovation
There are four main sources of low-cost or no-cost open-source innovation – your employees, customers (end users), suppliers, and the public.
At Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc., we call this 360° innovation. While the first three sources are singular, the public sector is comprised of six sub-sources.
Employees
Your employees interact with your customers on a regular basis and as such they should have a clear sense of your customers’ needs. This knowledge should lead to new ideas and innovations. Effectively tapping into this reservoir of understanding is key to a company’s innovation process.
An example of utilizing your employees is the company Virtual Garage, which has a software platform named eCar Show Registry that provides event management, participant registration, and judging.
When they were developing a new release of their software platform, they asked their customer facing personnel what features they should add, and they received a plethora of great ideas.
Please note – for your personnel to function as a partner in the pursuit of innovation, they need training on how to identify and develop innovative ideas and a system for properly collecting their ideas.
Customers
Customers are a critical source of innovation. A study by Eric von Hippel demonstrated that most ideas for new product innovations come from customers. Research by Richard Normann found that well-managed companies are not only close to their customers, but they also seek out and engage their most demanding customers regarding their respective needs. This results in the generation of new innovations.
The integration of customers into different parts of the innovation process can take a variety of forms including, but not limited to customer forums, panels, observational approaches, or accessible communities.
An example of soliciting input from customers is the same Virtual Garage which has its salespeople record any suggestions or ideas that come up during customer demos.
Suppliers
Your supply chain and vendors can be mined for innovative ideas related to your operations and customer needs. This can include joint development initiatives where you and they explore new technologies and methodologies that can lead to more innovative ways to operate. Wal-Mart has been a role model in working with its suppliers and an example of this is their joint development of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) technology for tracking inventory.
Public
The last source of innovation, the public, is comprised of a number of innovation sub-sources, including: the public in general, competitors, independent entrepreneurs, innovation specialists, inventors, scientists, and universities.
The public sector is key to developing a continuous supply of good new ideas, and it requires forging quality links with others outside your company via a 360° approach to innovation. By building external information networks as well as internal cross-unit networks to generate ideas fertile growth areas can be identified, or outside solutions can be harnessed for problem areas within your company.
Managing The Flow Of Innovations
Overseeing the flow of innovations within a business entails the need for a system to manage innovation and make sure your entire innovation process is effective and stays on track.
No matter which source an innovation came from, a system is required to capture, incubate and commercialize the organization’s new ideas for innovation. The use of a system to manage your overall innovation efforts results is called Innovation Pipeline Management.
Whether it is done piecemeal or by use of a software package, this tracking system should be part of the proper infrastructure that needs to be put in place to support a company’s innovation efforts.
The use of a systematic and formal idea collection and processing system will enable an organization to make innovation an integral part of their operation.
Two Approaches to Innovation Pipeline Management
For smaller organizations that require a very limited amount of functionality with their innovation pipeline management, the following components, operating together may serve them well.
- A place or portal on the company’s website where customers and the public can submit ideas to you
- Alternatively, the setup of an email account like ideas@yourcompanyname or innovation@yourcompanyname can be created where employees, customers, suppliers and your sales channel partners can offer suggestions
- The creation of an electronic worksheet that can be shared among various people in your organization for keeping track of the status of the innovations you have received
The problem with a non-systematic approach like the above is that if there is hardly any innovation volume, it is very easy to lose control of tracking your innovations. This approach lacks a number of innovation pipeline management features you may find very desirable. For an organization of almost any size the use of innovation pipeline management software to track ideas and innovations is a must.
Innovation Pipeline Management Software
An example of innovation pipeline management software that addresses these issues is https://briteidealab.com, which includes two software applications. One system, Brite Idea Lab, collects ideas from an organization’s customers and the public and then routes the ideas to the company’s internal idea collectors.
This system also includes the utilization of service providers who can deliver resources to idea submitters to further develop their ideas. Submissions may be just an idea, one for which a prototype has been developed, an invention that is somewhere in the patent process, a start-up business with innovative ideas, or an existing company that has innovations they want to provide to other organizations.
The second system, i-Lab, collects ideas from the enterprise’s employees, suppliers, and their sales channel, and then passes the ideas on to the appropriate personnel within the organization for evaluation. Both systems use keywords and other data in the submitted idea to match and direct ideas to the person within a company in charge of the pertinent innovation area (Innovation Authorities).
To manage the interface between idea submitters and collectors both software applications use profiles built by the idea collectors regarding what they are looking for. These software packages and the matching algorithms inside of them are basically “match.com” between anyone with an idea and people inside of organizations and companies looking for specific ideas.
Where to Start
To avail yourself of effective, low-cost innovation, start by taking the following five steps:
- Decide to focus your company on the collection of innovative ideas from your employees, customers (end users), suppliers, and the public
- Prioritize the order in which you will pursue each of these sources
- Determine how you will reach out to each of the areas and how you will promote your innovation initiative to them
- Put in place an Innovation Pipeline Management system to ensure you act on the innovations that are provided to your company
- Ensure you stay in touch with the person(s) who have submitted innovations to keep them in the loop with regard to the status of their innovation
If you need assistance with soliciting and harvesting innovations with very little cost, please contact us using the below information so we can guide you through this vital area.
Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc. is an Innovation and Business Growth, Scaling, and Planning firm. During the past 21, years we have shown over 1,200 companies how to achieve their goals by using our unique, comprehensive, and systematic FastTrak Innovation Program™, Innovation Academy™, and Structure of Success™ methodologies. Using the components in these methodologies, each month we examine an aspect of how to transform your business or organization into a true 21st Century enterprise.
Office: (770) 642-4220
George.Horrigan@FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
Tags: Business Planning, entrepreneur, front end of innovation, innovation, invention, small business consulting, small business planning, start a business
