How to Boost Company Innovation with Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a cost-effective way for businesses to accelerate innovation, but most businesses still rely on internal resources to find break-through ideas. Crowdsourcing lets firms harness the power of a large group of thinkers and allows them to sidestep the limitations of traditional innovation. By inviting groups to solve a common problem, companies can get a greater number of ideas in a shorter amount of time, gain access to unexpected ideas, and validate thinking with voting and crowd responses. The article identifies five simple steps for successful innovation through crowdsourcing: designing the exercise, choosing a crowdsourcing platform, releasing the task and recruiting the crowd, managing the process, and selecting an idea and getting building. The article also highlights common pitfalls to avoid, such as not setting clear guidelines or using an outdated crowdsourcing platform.