Cross-pollinate Within Your Organization

Inspire advocates and critics. Invite outsiders – experts, customers, suppliers, and partners. Change hats to generate and evaluate ideas through cross-pollinate organization. To face today's complex challenges, you need to incorporate a wide range of styles, skills, and perspectives. In the new era of systemic innovation, it is more important for an organization to be cross-functionally excellent than functionally excellent.

Firms which are successful in realizing the full returns from their technologies and innovations are able to match their technological developments with complementary expertise in other areas of their business, such as manufacturing, distribution, human resources, marketing, and customer relationships. To lead these expertise development efforts, cross-functional teams, either formal or informal, need to be formed. These teams can also find new businesses in white spaces between existing business units.