The Double Helix of Innovation and Change

Crowd sourcing can be an effective way to capture outside-in problem solving power, but it can create hidden tension within established R&D organizations.

Change Logic co-founder Mike Tushman co-authored this HBR article on how hidden identity dynamics affected the adoption of crowd sourcing at NASA. NASA scientists who were used to solving problems suddenly found themselves framing problems for others to solve. Some embraced the change from “problem solving” to “solution seeking”, but others resisted because they came to NASA to solve some of science’s toughest problems.

Tushman and his co-authors studied NASA’s crowd sourcing efforts for 3 years and found that aligning scientists around the higher purpose of their work – getting to Mars – was vital to success. The authors’ research found that managers should reward and encourage solution seeking rather than only incentivizing problem-solving metrics like patents or publications.

How has your R&D organization reacted to open innovation efforts?

Read Full Article in Harvard Business Review