Page 38 - Free the Idea Monkey

When P&G’s then-chairman and CEO, A.G. Lafley, demanded

that 50 percent of all new innovations come through R&D, not from

R&D, he transformed P&G into the

leader of what we now know as

open innovation. It was as simple as Yotohrugisactnoioniduzayladyotiudoron
redirecting his masterful scientists.
He told them, “I know you are ter-
rific at coming up with new ideas.
Don’t stop. But spend some of your
time looking around to see what

other interesting people are doing.

Talk to them. Take them to lunch

and let’s see which of their ideas

will work for us.”

With that simple directive, he turned his scientists from being

“just” a team of inventors to being a band of inventors/IP scouts/

connectors.

It was a dramatic change. And one that has worked spectacularly.

This revolutionary business model of open innovation has increased

P&G’s profitability and new product success and changed their cul-

ture. The feeling at P&G has gone from “if we didn’t invent here, we

are not interested,” to “let’s source the world and incorporate every

wonderful idea we can find.”

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