Why Technology Scouting is Important — How to Derive Maximum Benefit
Procter & Gamble’s CEO, Alan G. Lafley, was renowned for declaring over ten years ago that “half the company’s ideas must come from the outside” — a radical idea at the time. Indeed, P&G became one of the foremost leaders in external technology and innovation scouting, a position which continues to pay off. Going outside can both speed up and improve technical development, free up scarce internal resources for other high-impact activities, and lead to greater innovation as well as entry into new markets.
Most firms today recognize the importance of open innovation (OI) and technology scouting — the challenge is translating the promise into profitable reality. Many begin their journey with the simple goal of filling gaps in their development skill-set, driven primarily by the need to implement approved projects in a timely way. They quickly learn that this tactical perspective, while adding value, limits the potential of external scouting. The real value comes from making OI and tech scouting an integral part of a long-term growth strategy and innovation culture.
Common implementation challenges include:
- How do we set up a formal scouting program and mesh it with other development initiatives?
- When do we scout – how do we gain strategic benefits beyond gap-filling?
- Where do we look and how do we assess what we find?
- What is success and how do we measure it?
- How do we transfer technical know-how once we decide to go forward?
This interactive, practical, and example-filled workshop is designed to help those seeking maximum business impact and payback from scouting. Drawing on Dr. Paap’s deep expertise and 40+ years of experience, this highly-rated course is widely considered the definitive one on the subject. By attending you will come away with a practical guide to forming and managing a world-class scouting program. You will know how to cultivate an open culture, and how to choose and successfully integrate new technologies and opportunities.
Workshop Objective – Accelerate and Increase Scouting Return on Investment
The purpose of this two-day session is to give you proven tools and planning frameworks that you can immediately use to accelerate your development efforts and promote a more innovative product portfolio. Our goal is to help you develop the skills that will allow you and your team to effectively leverage internal technical capabilities by selectively going outside to meet strategic objectives.