Crowdstorm: The Future of Innovation, Ideas, and Problem Solving

Brainstorm at Internet scale to find and evaluate ideas and talent We′ve been using brainstorming for more than sixty years. Now it is possible to greatly improve the process by organizing large crowds of diverse talent. We call it crowdstorming. Through the power of crowdstorming, a process of working with thousands of people to generate and refine more ideas than ever before, your firm can tap into the world′s talent and knowledge base. Whether you′re a Fortune 500 or a mid–size company, Crowdstorm will teach you how to solicit, refine, and choose ideas from a broad variety of networks for everything from business models to packaging design. Learn best practices for planning, organizing, and executing crowdstorming projects. This indispensable guide to innovation shows you: The best tools for implementing a crowdstorming initiative How to find and recruit participants The right questions to ask participants in order to extract the best ideas How to fairly compensate those participants for their efforts How to navigate the legal hurdles involved in using external talent How to assess and select the best ideas Crowdstorming creates opportunities for broadening your organization′s reach to find talent and ideas to improve your business. By learning the processes and gathering the right tools, you′ll be able to attract and motivate talent to improve your approaches to complex problem solving, idea creation, and innovation. Crowdstorm will guide you every step of the way.

Introduction v Chapter 1 First, Some Context 1 Chapter 2 Intellectual Property, Confidentiality, and Brands 21 Chapter 3 Ask the Right Question 41 Chapter 4 Fair Incentives to Motivate 59 Chapter 5 Build the Coalition 81 Chapter 6 Recruit the Best Participants 103 Chapter 7 Manage Communities to Facilitate Great Outcomes 121 Chapter 8 Understand Participant Contributions 145 Chapter 9 Reign in the Tyranny of Ideas 161 Chapter 10 Choose the Right Online Space 181 Chapter 11 Meta 199 Acknowledgments 209 Notes 211 Index 221

Shaun Abrahamson is an early stage investor and advisor. For the last decade, he has worked with some of today′s leading startups. At Mutopo, he advises global firms on how to benefit from online connections with customers and experts. He built computer–aided design tools at MIT, studied at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, lectured at the Wharton School and New York University, and contributed to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Peter Ryder is the former president of jovoto, Inc., a startup whose platform and community help companies innovate and solve challenges facing their business. After a successful career in consulting at Deloitte, CSC, and Accenture helping organizations use technology to transform their operations, he now invests in new ventures and advises organizations on how to take advantage of new technologies in today′s digital economy. Bastian Unterberg is the founder and CEO of jovoto, a Berlin– and NYC–based firm that organizes a 40,000–person strong creative community to work with global brands on problems ranging from new product design to sustainable architecture. His work has been featured in various media such as Page , New York Times , Focus , and Fast Company . An active speaker, Bastian presents at various national and international conferences.