Henry Ford’s model of ‘change’ remains a pillar of innovation in business
‘Open innovation is a solution that can benefit all types of businesses’
When business is ticking along, it is tempting not to question the status quo. There are plenty of adages to support this view. You’ll often hear management 101 advise to “stick to your knitting” or to follow a plan of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
But that’s precisely how businesses have been left behind. When the Ford Motor Company launched the Model T in 1908 there were already other automakers selling cars. Yet Henry Ford’s car stands out in history because Ford reinvented the way to build cars.
His factory innovation was to take the work to the men instead of the men to the work – it was the conveyor belt. Thanks to the manufacturing solution, by 1914 Ford produced about 300,000 cars with 13,000 employees, while 299 other companies with 66,350 employees produced about 280,000 vehicles.
Since then, this story has been a text book example of the transformative value of innovation – but typically most companies have tried to develop big bang theories by themselves. That is until recently, when “open source” and “open innovation” became buzzwords.
Open innovation is what it sounds like it is. Everything from the inspiration to the brass tacks details can come from anyone to quickly develop and commercialise new offerings. By directly engaging with outsiders - consumers, suppliers, universities and even competitors - businesses can pull from a variety of sources to develop differentiated products and services.
How to open up to innovation?
