Brilliant Ideas: Spigit inspires innovation
Charmian Love
May 12, 2010
Spigit is a sign of the times. As more and more companies recognize the importance of unleashing the innovative potential of their employees, software systems such as Spigit are going to see a rocketing market for their services.
What is Spigit? A brilliant tool that provides people within organisations (as well as external partners and customers) a usable platform where they can share ideas, rank ideas and find the incentives and tools needed to move from ideation to development. Think of it as a cross between InnoCentive and the Pepsi Refresh Everythign Campaign.
What really impresses me about the model is how they have systematically addressed all the challenges we’ve heard from the private sector around how to tackle the innovation challenge within firms. Worried about how to manage a tsunami of ideas? Spigit will collate and find duplicate ideas – and encourage people with similar concepts to get in touch with one another to collaborate. Concerned about whether people will actually use it? Spigit provides incentives for people who have the best ideas, as voted on by other members of the organisation (each user has a reputation scorecard where they can rank and get ranked – similar to Ebay). These rewards include typical prizes like new IPads, but what is generally more attractive to users is the social currency that comes along with some prizes – like lunch with the CEO or a prime parking space in the company lot. Priceless stuff.
In addressing these challenges through the development of their online platform, Spigit creates communities of innovation – providing connectivity between people who may not otherwise collaborate. It also provides a way of recognizing and valuing successful innovations by giving the ideas and people who generate the ideas, a social currency within the company, and even profile with the C-Suite. Important signals of a transformation to an innovation culture.
So why isn’t everyone using Spigit? Well, they are starting too. Their current list of clients includes an A-Z of big business – ranging from Pfizer, AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Allstate, AAA, and Lloyds TSB. They are also the software engine powering Cisco’s I-Prize.
Just think of the potential of this system if it, like InnoCentive, took up the challenge of social innovation, providing ways for the private sector, governments and entrepreneurs to share their knowledge and work together to create workable ideas that could be quickly deployed. The impact could be massive.
