The Food and Drug Administration offers $500,000 for the best breakthrough idea it receives for detecting salmonella on fresh produce. Including coaching for the five finalists. The Washington Post called it “The Voice, but then for science geeks”. Are Idea Contests indeed tapping into the wisdom of crowds, or is this another fad of groupthink?
Is innovation a core business process or support service in your organization? Your first answer is probably innovation is core to our business—because improvements and new services enable our organization to sustain its profits, survive, attract new customers, etc. But do you need to innovate in order to advise your clients or see your patients? Likely not. Although important, innovation is a support service in most organizations, just like Accounting and Human Resources. Important, but not an integral process of each service delivery.