The document discusses 10 traps to avoid when using collaboration and crowdsourcing initiatives. These include focusing only on promotion, choosing participants based on who they are rather than the problem, thinking there is a one-size-fits-all approach, prioritizing technology over people, limiting participation, expecting crowdsourcing to provide final answers rather than inspiration, and only engaging the target customer rather than a diverse group of thinkers. The key is to use crowdsourcing effectively by defining the problem, selecting appropriate participants, and applying insights to develop innovations.

1. Using open-source collaboration and crowdsourcing
principles to bring companies together with individuals
from other disciplines, experiences and talents to
deliver breakthrough ideas and innovations

2. TEN collaboration and crowdsourcing TRAPS to avoid

3. The Ego Trap
Don't shy away from collaboration and crowdsourcing initiatives because you think they
are a knock on your existing creative/innovation process
Embrace these approaches for what they are -- tools
to generate more stimuli and inspiration for you and
your teams…especially early-on in the planning and
development stage when you want/need to explore the
broadest range of solutions and ideas

4. The Promotion/PR Trap
In many cases, crowdsourcing is being used as a unique promotional tactic to provide
consumers and/or influencers with a memorable brand experience (i.e., create a new
flavor, etc.) designed to generate buzz and press
However, crowdsourcing is much more than a
promotional or PR tactic
There are plenty of ways to execute approaches
behind-the-scenes to generate new product
innovations and unique marketing ideas. And the
"crowd" you would "source" in these situations
would include participants who go beyond just
consumers, influencers and Facebook “friends”
Go beyond this!

5. The Who Before What Trap
Crowdsourcing has become a buzz word in the industry…and everyone is interested in
giving it a shot. Unfortunately, many companies begin by thinking about WHO they want
to crowdsource as a first step...and that’s a BIG mistake
Determining WHO has earned the right to
collaborate with your brand/company all depends
on WHAT you're trying to achieve. For example,
you might collaborate with one group behind-the-
scenes to develop a proprietary new product...but
engage a completely different group to be part of
a high-profile campaign designed to generate PR
So, when it comes to crowdsourcing…let the
WHAT dictate the WHO...not the other way around

6. The One-Size-Fits-All Trap
When you take a look around at all the crowdsourcing initiatives out there, you'll start to notice
that they are being executed in a variety of different ways
So, when you decide to start crowdsourcing...remember that there is no "one size fits all"
approach. You need to find the approach that works for you…and that means finding a
comfortable place to get started…being open to combining approaches…and always trying
new things. Simply put, you'll need to be patient…like our friends at P&G
P&G’s development and implementation of “connect and develop” has unfolded over many years.
There have been some hiccups along the way, but largely it has been a methodical process of
learning by doing, abandoning what doesn’t work and expanding what does
- Harvard Business Review

7. The I Need A Tech Platform Trap
There are lots of technology platforms that you can use to support crowdsourcing
initiatives…and some of them are pretty sexy. However, crowdsourcing is NOT about the
platform you use...it's about the PEOPLE you collaborate with (the crowd you source)
Visionary, Seth Godin, put it best in Tribes when he wrote:
Throughout this book, I'm pretty quick to use examples based
on the Internet and some of the astonishing new tools that are
showing up to enable tribes to be more effective. But the
Internet is just a tool, an easy way to enable some tactics. The
real power of tribes has nothing to do with the Internet and
everything to do with people
Don’t be fooled or intimidated by all those people out there with the sexy tech platforms.
The approach you use to crowdsource should be the one that works best for your crowd and
your organization. So, consider everything -- from online collaboration platforms…to online
survey platforms…to live workshops…to good ol’ email…etc.

8. The Team Temptation Trap
When you talk about crowdsourcing…everyone immediately assumes the participants
should work together to build and vote for ideas. However, many approaches incorporate a
blind layer where participants work on the problem alone without anyone influencing their
thinking…or compromising their personal problem-solving techniques. For example, at
BigHeads, we use the following one-two punch approach:
Phase I - Blind Format
We let participants go it alone so they give us responses that have not been influenced and they
can use their own creative techniques to develop ideas
Phase II - Team Format
We take the top ideas from Phase I and use a team-based approach where everyone can re-focus
and begin building on the top ideas together

9. The More the Merrier Trap
Opening up your project to tons of people may seem to make sense…but remember -
quantity doesn’t always mean quality. In fact, at BigHeads we limit our crowd to hand-
picked BIG thinkers who we know will deliver quality thinking…quickly
So, if you decide to throw the doors wide open…make sure you have the resources and
patience to cull through lots of bad ideas to find the great ones

10. The Expect The Answer Trap
Remember, crowdsourcing is all about inviting the right people from beyond your four
walls to inspire ideas and solutions…but you can’t just provide them with a project brief
and expect them to come back with the answer while you wait
Your role is critical to the process! As the
project's champion, you need to put in place
the necessary steps to weed-out the most
compelling insights, ideas and inspiration and
then determine how that information can be
applied to create the final innovations

11. The Confidentiality Trap
Not surprisingly, confidentiality is one of the concerns many companies have when they
first consider a crowdsourcing initiative, especially when they are interested in "sourcing"
a "crowd" from outside their walls to generate new ideas and solutions
Well, don't let confidentiality concerns hold you back. There are plenty of steps you can
take to ensure your project and your objective remain protected
For example, at BigHeads we put in place the following measures
for our Brand OpeningTM crowdsourcing/collaboration process:
• All members execute a comprehensive NDA when they join
• Participants do not receive standard brand briefs. Our projects are
designed to elicit stimuli for our internal team to use when creating final
ideas, so participants oftentimes do not even know the true objective
• Our clients always have final approval before a project is distributed, so
sensitive information is never released
• Even though a brand's stature can help drive participation, it is possible
to keep projects 100% anonymous

12. The Target Consumer Trap
When it comes to crowdsourcing initiatives, most brands and companies often feel that the
ONLY resource they need to tap for their project is their TARGET CUSTOMER
As true believers in the methodology that “BIG ideas happen when DISSIMILAR universes
collide”…here at BigHeads we constantly remind companies to be careful not to fall into
the trap of limiting your efforts to a target customer "crowd". If you do, you'll end up
missing out on a universe of untapped creativity, opportunity and potential
So, if you are considering crowdsourcing, we recommend
you keep this quote handy as a constant reminder to extend
your crowd BEYOND just your target customers:
“If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they
would have said a faster horse”
- Henry Ford

13. John Palumbo / Founder, BigHeads Network
888.646.0411 x-701
john@bigheadsnetwork.com
http://twitter.com/BigHeads
BigHeads Network