Open Innovation the McKinsey way

I don’t know why but this cynical example from Jacques Bughin (McKinsey & Company) on open innovation is not supposed to be fun:

When recently Fiat has called its fans to give ideas and feedback on new Fiat 500, no less than 170,000 designs have been proposed graciously, together with 1,000 accessories. No IP, no wage, but there’s a feeling for contributing fans that their opinion matter,

It is a concept from the news papers business, the letters to the editors. Free content – and from an editorial perspective “improvement of newspaper-reader relations”. Some disillusioned political radicals, and they often become lobby consultants in their business life, regard that the essence of contemporary democratic governance, the Machiavelli style:

…there’s a feeling for contributing fans citizens that their opinion and voting matter

I don’t share a cynical mindset but still Jacques Bughin’s example is not without merits. It advocates Open Innovation via the elitist pipe.

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