Common Change Management Errors (6 cont.)
Co-Creating As Part Of Buy-In
Introduction
Organisations are facing many challenges linked with uncertain, unknown,unpredictable futures.
Some of the questions they need to answer
"...Where to find future growth? How to deal with the risk of commoditisation? How to innovate from core? How to get - or stay - connected with customers?..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
Co-creation can help and is regarded as a program for change; it is defined as
"...Practice of collaborative product or service development: developers and stakeholders working together......a form of open innovation: ideas are shared, rather than kept to oneself..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
With the explosion of available data, information, knowledge, etc there is a greater need to share, and co-creation is a way to do it.
However, many organisations have reservations about sharing ideas, strategies, etc outside the organisation.
Co-creation provides the opportunity for
"... great meeting of minds, fresh perspectives on business and inspiring ideas that will guide you in the right direction..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
NB
"...Leader's priorities to be curious, listen and to guide, not to hand down directives. In this way, teams become co-creators of the transformation initiative, and when roadblocks happen, everyone can look to each other for support and solutions..."
Paula Kelly, 2023
Co-creating can be used to
"... - tackle your toughest strategic challenges
- get a fresh perspective on your business
- get in touch with key trends and business drivers
- unlock the world outside and bring it inside
- cross pollinate with other industries
- connect and bond with partners, customers, consumers
- identify good stuff out there
- develop breakthrough new ideas
- reduce risks; test products while developing them
- bring excitement to the floor
- work with......creative people...:
Martijn Pater, 2009
"...Co-creating generates five times more ownership than those who are told what to do..."
Nathan Garden, 2023
NB "...1% of people in any community generate the majority of the creative output in that group..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
In co-creation you need to define the degree of
- openness (anyone able to join or is there a selection criteria or limited membership)
- ownership (who owns the IP, outcomes, outputs, etc, ie initiator or contributors)
Four types of co-creating (based on openness and ownership)
(source: Martijn Pater, 2009
i) club of experts (ideal for very focused, time-limited challenges that demand expertise and breakthrough ideas; specific selection criteria for participants; quality of inputs, creative thinking and relationships between participants are important, eg
Nokia brings together 'lead users' and 'experts' to co-create new visionary products and services)
ii) crowd of people (sometimes called 'crowdsourcing', ie 'unleashing the power of the mass'; unlimited participation; chasing brilliant idea(s); use of online platforms for exchange of ideas; no guarantee that best people will contribute, eg Threadless is an online T-shirt platform where anybody can contribute to T-shirt designs; usually profit-sharing involved with minimal costs in R&D, staff, stock, etc)
iii) coalition of parties (different groups come together to share ideas, etc like co- branding;
"...each of the parties brings a specific asset or skill......technical breakthroughs......often happen only when multiple parties collaborate......key success factors include sharing knowledge and parading competitive advantage..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
For example, Heineken co-operated with Krups in developing a home draught system called 'Beertender', ie packaging innovation in beer; similarly, Heineken worked with others to develop a range of aluminium bottles)
iv) community of kindred spirits (people with similar interests, passion, goals, etc come together; usually developing something for the community;
"...Leverage is the potential force of a large group of people with complementary areas of expertise..."
Martijn Pater, 200
For example, Linux's
"...open source operating system software was developed by users and for users. The software code is free to use and owned by nobody. It started with one simple e-mail with a request for help..."
Five guiding principles
i) inspire participation (encourage relevant people to become involved; find the appropriate triggers to get these people involved; triggers can include the challenge itself, personal benefit (including financial), societal impact, etc; inform people about yourself, why you need their help and what will be done with the results; treat all opinions equally and with respect; share a common goal, etc; creating a conducive, non-threatening environment to encourage openness and transparency for all to contribute
ii) select the very best in people and ideas (select people to participate who are beneficial to the process, ie have great ideas and will add value; include expertise that is relevant to the topic; tap into relevant ideas both inside and outside the organisation; focus on diversity of thought and suitable personalities to work in a team; elect people who have
"...thought leadership, proven track record and expertise, creative and constructive thinking, peer recognition, communicative and connecting qualities..."
Martijn Pater, 2009
iii) connect creative minds (encourage the right people to work together; create the right collaborative environment which will bring out the best in everyone, ie synchronicity (all participants resonating on the same wavelength); find that trigger so that they 'spark'; sharing information, ideas, experiences, friends, strategies, successes, failures, etc; willing to learn from each other; everybody should be good listeners, be receptive and interested plus have a positive attitude, ie looking for unlocking
"...The potential in a group of contributors and look for moments of revelation..."
Martijn Pater, 2009)
iv) share results (open communications; appropriate compensation/rewards, etc for contributions, ie financial and non-financial like status, recognition, etc; discourage 'us v. them' attitude, withholding information, hidden agendas, negativity, personal attacks, etc; allow constructive, tactful criticism; keep participants informed of progress and developments, share IP, ie co-ownership, etc)
v) continue development (encourage long-term engagement with participants, especially as some ideas generated will need further development; seek continuous feedback; regularly monitor and evaluate progress making the necessary modifications, adjustments, etc
NB Create the most conducive environment to share, create, respond to and improve on ideas, etc)
Some examples include
- Innocentive (a platform where scientists and other experts gather to solve tough scientific challenges; originally established by Eli Lilly it has been expanded to around 20 other organisations; impressive track record, ie 30% of all problems posed are solved by around 100,000 scientists who participate; open invitation for anyone who thinks they can solve others' problems)
- Lego (since 2004, Lego has encouraged users to work with its developers; these users
"...have helped Lego improve their product ranges far beyond Lego's wildest dreams..."
Martijn Pater, 2009)
- Apple (has allowed 3rd parties to develop user applications and set their own price on Apple iPhone app store's platform)
- Procter and Gamble (P&G) (via its 'Connect and Develop' initiative, P&G has invited outsiders to innovate with them; outsiders offering great ideas with P&G providing the scale and expertise;
"...people are encouraged to look beyond the traditional roles and responsibilities. For example, marketing agencies are involved in new product development early on, in other categories inspiration is found pricing strategies and with suppliers new breakthrough developments are found..."
Martijn Pater, 2009)
Four areas of value in co-creation
i) direct results (economic value, ie profit, generated by new products and/or services)
ii) direct spin-offs (not necessarily financial, ie contacts made and networks developed, new collaborations initiated, word-of-mouth marketing, etc)
iii) future results (the introduction of new product and/or service will encourage extensions and inspire new products, ie snowball effect; need to check that the partnership fits with your brand and the experience you want to deliver)
iv) future spin-offs (can have far reaching, unpredictable impacts, etc)
Some examples:
- Amazon (became the biggest bookstore on the Internet; it is highly customer-centric, eg allows readers to create content around the books, ie writing book reviews and this has became a cornerstone of its success)
- Philips and Sara Lee (co-created the Senseo coffee machine to encourages home use of coffee; since launching in 2001, has sold tens of millions of machines; resulted its pods becoming the main coffee packaging; guided the path for Nespresso as the more premium system; more features being added to the machines like tea and other drinks, etc)
- Internet (its invention and exponential growth via content sharing and consumption has led to other spin-offs like digital music (Spotify, art, etc)
Other Spin-offs of Co-creation
When people create things together, they develop ownership and commitment; consequently, there is often enthusiasm and even excitement. This can indicate a recovery in the meaning of work.
"...Few maladies are more widespread today than the perception of work as meaningless - boring, trivial, routine, and insignificant - though it consumes half of one's waking hours. People have devised numerous ways to deal with this ennui, ranging from partnering for increased benefits to job-hopping to apathy. The popular remedy is to achieve 'work-life balance' as if work were not part of life..."
John Epps as quoted by Bill Staples, 2013
It is about transforming by using participation, ie inputs from all stakeholders, ie
"...employees became directly involved in planning and problem-solving tasks. They took new roles, animating and inspiring project teams and departments. These organisations retained employees by involving them in serious initiatives to improve everything from policy to operations. The surge of commitment......ignites the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity essential to any organisation's success and sustainability in today's complex environment..."
Bill Staples, 2013