There’s clearly a stampede going on to combine app stores, digital downloads, and cloud storage/back-up as ways to create competing and coopetive ecosystems. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft (which just invested in Barnes and Noble’s Nook e-Readers) all now have such similar business models and ecosystem strategies, it’s no longer surprising when one of them makes the next move. Their goal: create a comfy “place” for us to hang out and DO everything we need to do in order to live our digitally-connected lives, from downloading music and videos and books, to chatting with our friends, to keeping our important digital assets, email and files backed up, to strutting our stuff and selling our wares.

In his Forbes article, entitled Facebook's App Store Heats Up Convergence of Big 5, Haydn Shaughnessy writes:

“Facebook’s App Center will be a mega-shop for Apps from all operating systems, with a rating system based around engagement. Facebook will not take a cut if it directs people to iOS or Android but will be encouraging developers to do more for Facebook, where it will take 30%.

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While Apple is often the most highly touted company for its innovation success, 3M is a global innovation company that has remained under the radar for its long-term innovation plans and succeses. With $30 billion in sales and products sold in nearly 200 countries, 3M has made significant contributions to the health care, communications and office business - including bringing the world’s most recognizable brands Post-it Notes and Scotch tape to market.

The root of 3M’s success is its business model; to foster organic growth by inventing entirely new, market-changing products. These disruptive technologies have not only led to new products but to the creation of new industries. In order to foster this growth, 3M has always emphasized the important of research and development (R&D) to which the company dedicates six percent of its yearly revenue. Although a high percentage in R&D spending does not guarantee success, 3M is doing very well.

A few months ago, I met with the Sr. Director, Open Innovation at Lego. I asked him the above question. His response came fast and clear.

“We have no choice”, he said and continued: “Our customers simply demand to be part of the development of our products and service and our employees tell us they can do more if we open up our innovation efforts. So in our view, we have no choice but to open up.”

Let’s take a look at another compay, Psion. A few years ago, they were in deep trouble and the new CEO John Conoley quickly concluded that they needed to change their innovation methods in order to right the company.

They decided to embrace open innovation and during an interview with them I asked John Conoley why they wanted to do this.

He said something that has stuck with me ever since.

“We want to be competitively unpredictable”

I just like the taste of this. Which company would not want to become competitively unpredictable? As the interview continued, I asked him how he would do this and then he surprised me again by saying something a CEO rarely does:

He said: “I have no idea! – but it is my job as the CEO to create the right framework and conditions for this to happen.” Open innovation is very much about changing the processes within a company. You need executive support to make this happen just like what Conoley gave then.

It would be great if you can share other examples on why companies embrace open innovation.

Inside your brain there’s a creativity censor.  With finger poised above the ‘Bleep’ button, he’s constantly protecting you from ideas that he deems useless, or worse: foolish.  He knows what every boss wants, what every friend thinks of you, what strangers see when they look at you.  He knows what’s best for you and the best way to get it.

On more than one occasion I’ve seen this censor, singlehandedly, dull brilliance and turn a symphony into an energy sapping drone.

Why would the censor do this?  Because he’s protecting you!  Give him a free rein and you will comfortably reside in the Status Quo.  You won’t look like a fool, you won’t push the envelope, you won’t feel uncomfortable.

Your creativity and the potential for great ideas will also come to a screeching halt.

Ideas build upon ideas – yours and others.  They are stepping-stones.  Remove one and things might be okay…might.  Remove two or three and you’re constrained to walking on one plane.

So, what can you do?

You need to teach yourself to not listen to the censor, but instead to listen to the ideas. When you hear the “BLEEP!” you need to ignore it.  Instead, write the idea down and play with it. See where it leads.  Nowhere?  That’s okay!  But, the very act of acknowledging that idea has now given you a stepping stone to another idea, and another, and….