Despite attention to Open Innovation, few organisations have set up the processes and infrastructure to proactively manage the idea ‘generation to implementation’ process and more importantly, to exchange and share ideas with their eco-system (WEdeas not just Ideas). Most organisations are not short on new ideas, but they lack ways to manage the process. The solution, very often, is simply a matter of creating an (people, process, technology based) environment conducive to Idea / WEdea “management”. Having observed that organisations have different maturity levels in the way they create, implement and sustain Innovation / Idea Management, the author created the Capability Scale for WEdea Management to help managers understand where their organisations stand currently and where they should move towards.

1. From Widgets to WEdeas
A Capability Scale for Idea / WEdea Management
Ashish DHARAP

2. Premise
o What an organisation needs in Certain and Uncertain
times is a balance of Ideas and Wedeas
not only through ‘in-house’ sources, but also the
willingness to receive and share ideas from their eco-
system of customers, partners and suppliers
o Most companies are not short on new ideas, yet, few
companies set the infrastructure to proactively manage
and more importantly, to sustain Idea Management as a
business process
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

3. Context
o McKinsey Survey 2007 - How companies approach Innovation (n=1458) :
❖ 48% of managers agree with the failure by leaders to model behaviour that encourages
innovation
❖ 60% of Top managers say the biggest hindrance of leadership teams is their failure to
follow communication with action
❖ 40% of Top managers say that they do not have enough of the right kind of employees
o BCG Senior Executive Innovation Survey 2007 (n= 2468)
❖ In the BCG Survey, 34 % cited a lack of coordination within the company as the reasons
preventing achievement of higher returns from their Innovation investments
❖ 22% cited inability to adequately measure performance as the reason preventing
achievement of higher returns from their Innovation investments

4. Approach used to create the Capability Scale
o Track input factors / basic building blocks which an organisation
needs to implement Idea Management as a business process
o Semi-structured discussions with 23 Senior Execs in Oct 2007
o Multi-national organisations – operating in > 5 countries
o Size – ranging from € 500 Million to 20 Billion
o High Tech / Semiconductors / Industrial Products
o Financial Controllers / BU Head (VP level) / CEO
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

5. Capability Scale for WEdea Management
Management
Commitment
Management
Approach
Competencies
Culture
Guiding
Processes
Reporting,
Communication
& Monitoring
Funding /
Rewarding
Technology
Weightage%
Bricks & Mortar
Leadership
Weightage%
People
Weightage%
Processes
Weightage%
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

6. Leadership
Management
Commitment
No explicit strategy &
guidance
Enthusiasm for Idea
Management, but no
guidance
Idea Management
approach defined &
guided with Executive /
Management
commitment
Measured. Integrated
with Business plans
IM linked to and
integral part of
organisation strategy.
High level of
commitment to
organisation & eco-
system growth
Management
Approach
Limited acceptance /
tolerance for new ideas.
Top down management
style.
Ideas generated only for
fighting fires. Impulse
driven management
styles
Simple Idea
management processes.
Encouraging
management styles.
Process ownership in
the Executive Team.
Innovation & KPI driven,
high level of process
integration with Business
plans.
High level of integration
& idea exchange with
customers & suppliers.
Able to sustain
processes over lifetime
of the organisation
Leadership
Weightage%
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008.All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

7. People
Competencies Task oriented Task & Functional
knowledge
Efficiency &
Effectiveness oriented
Service oriented,
creative
Team players
Culture Resistance to change.
Finger pointing /
ridiculing of ideas.
Slightly aware and open
to sharing Ideas.
Presence of 'not invented
here' attitude
What's in it for me?
Business case driven
Improvement &
creativity oriented
culture
Open to external ideas
and knowledge sharing.
Almost total absence of
'not invented here'
attitude
People
Weightage%
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008.All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

8. Processes
Guiding
Processes
No formal processes Basic Idea Management
processes - linked to
department goals
Use of formal
frameworks / Idea
Management Processes -
linked to company goals
Process measurement /
root cause analysis.
Open / formal
communication channels
Use of formal
frameworks / Idea
Management Processes
linked to eco-system.
Open communications
with eco-system as well
Reporting,
Communication
& Monitoring
No reporting
mechanisms
Ad hoc to Periodic
reporting. Unstructured
feedback mechanisms -
leading to uncertainty /
politics
Regular reporting cycles
& monitoring. Formal
(from the top ) internal
communication
Structured reporting with
feedback & correction
loops
Feedback from eco-
system
Funding /
Rewarding
Fire fighting driven
projects. Occasional
reward schemes
Typically only for Product
related Innovation / Idea
generation
Support Functions also
have Idea Management
project budget. Bonus
mechanisms for
rewarding.
Company budgeting has
IM budgets integrated.
KPI's include Idea
Management related
metrics and rewards.
Profit / Risk sharing
models with eco-system
Processes
Weightage%
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008.All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

9. Technology
Technology
Weightage%
Bricks & Mortar No tools used. Absence
of data collection
mechanism
Varied formats of input -
paper / verbal
Email / intranet based
systems with centralised
databases
Integrated verbal / email
/ intranet based system
with analytical tools
Extranet / Collaboration
tools based systems
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008.All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.

10. SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.
Management
Commitment
No explicit strategy &
guidance
Enthusiasm for Idea
Management, but no
guidance
Idea Management
approach defined &
guided with Executive /
Management
commitment
Measured. Integrated
with Business plans
IM linked to and
integral part of
organisation strategy.
High level of
commitment to
organisation & eco-
system growth
Management
Approach
Limited acceptance /
tolerance for new ideas.
Top down management
style.
Ideas generated only for
fighting fires. Impulse
driven management
styles
Simple Idea
management processes.
Encouraging
management styles.
Process ownership in
the Executive Team.
Innovation & KPI driven,
high level of process
integration with Business
plans.
High level of integration
& idea exchange with
customers & suppliers.
Able to sustain
processes over lifetime
of the organisation
Competencies Task oriented Task & Functional
knowledge
Efficiency &
Effectiveness oriented
Service oriented,
creative
Team players
Culture Resistance to change.
Finger pointing /
ridiculing of ideas.
Slightly aware and open
to sharing Ideas.
Presence of 'not invented
here' attitude
What's in it for me?
Business case driven
Improvement &
creativity oriented
culture
Open to external ideas
and knowledge sharing.
Almost total absence of
'not invented here'
attitude
Guiding
Processes
No formal processes Basic Idea Management
processes - linked to
department goals
Use of formal
frameworks / Idea
Management Processes -
linked to company goals
Process measurement /
root cause analysis.
Open / formal
communication channels
Use of formal
frameworks / Idea
Management Processes
linked to eco-system.
Open communications
with eco-system as well
Reporting,
Communication
& Monitoring
No reporting
mechanisms
Ad hoc to Periodic
reporting. Unstructured
feedback mechanisms -
leading to uncertainty /
politics
Regular reporting cycles
& monitoring. Formal
(from the top ) internal
communication
Structured reporting with
feedback & correction
loops
Feedback from eco-
system
Funding /
Rewarding
Fire fighting driven
projects. Occasional
reward schemes
Typically only for Product
related Innovation / Idea
generation
Support Functions also
have Idea Management
project budget. Bonus
mechanisms for
rewarding.
Company budgeting has
IM budgets integrated.
KPI's include Idea
Management related
metrics and rewards.
Profit / Risk sharing
models with eco-system
Technology
15%
Bricks & Mortar No tools used. Absence
of data collection
mechanism
Varied formats of input -
paper / verbal
Email / intranet based
systems with centralised
databases
Integrated verbal / email
/ intranet based system
with analytical tools
Extranet / Collaboration
tools based systems
Leadership
40%
People
30%
Processes
15%
WEdea Capability Scale ©Copyright Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved
Efficient, Effective
and Sustainable
Nascent Ad hoc Internalised Efficient
Parameter

11. Benefits
o A capability scale helps managers understand where
their organisation stands currently, and serves as a
base to help define actions to move up the scale
More importantly, a simple / easy to understand scale
creates an easily manageable target for managers
SMS Conference Dec 2008. ©Ashish Dharap 2008. All rights reserved.