Convening Power

December 22, 2009 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment 

Crate detail

I have a great debt of gratitude to those who joined us in the great Open Innovation Exchange (OIE) experiment which I ended up getting a lot of credit for but was really the brain child of David Wilcox et al. The Open Innovation Exchange developed a competitive bid for a UK Government contract in the open, online and the bid was much better as a result.

One thing was clear from the OIE experiment, and that was, that the more people you can convene around an idea the better the idea will become. It’s not that others necessarily come up with better ideas but they will challenge it and force those who put up the idea to improve it or let it die.

This is exactly what’s happened with ColaLife. The idea I put up in May 2008 was that Coca-Cola should remove one bottle in every 10 crates and replace it with a cylinder containing Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). Now we are talking about a wedge-shaped container (not a cylinder) that makes use of the unused space in a crate AND with local determination of what goes on the container - ORS may not be what’s required in every location, all year round. We’ve gone from a good idea to a brilliant idea (IMHO) because of the way the idea has been exposed, discussed and challenged.

There are other benefits from this process and this became very apparent in the interview I’ve been through today (22/12/09) for the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. I was very relaxed going into the interview because I was pretty sure there wasn’t a question that they could come up with that I hadn’t been asked already by a ColaLife supporter in the discussion/challenge process that has gone on over the last 18 months. And that proved to be the case.

There are other benefits of convening of course:

  1. There’s the one that everyone knows. If you’re a lone voice, you are easy to ignore especially if you’re trying to get the attention of one of the biggest brands on the planet (Cola-Cola in our case). Lot’s people saying the same thing are more difficult to ignore and this has proved to be the case with ColaLife. We’ve managed to get Coca-Cola’s attention. A crucial first step in our case!
  2. If people convene around an idea it gives you huge confidence that the idea must be a good one. This is really important when you come to try and sell the idea to others (eg potential supporters) who have to be convinced.

As I have said before, this is why I believe in open innovation.

Onwards and upwards.

Filed under: Coca Cola Campaign
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ColaLife entered for the Buckminster Fuller Challenge

October 31, 2009 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment 

I am rather embarrassed by this video which accompanied our entry, but the people at the Buckminster Fuller Challenge (BFC) were very strict about what you should say and I found it very difficult to follow a script! So apologies, but I think it gets the message across. We only had two minutes.

Thanks are due to ColaLife supporter Maria Ana who drew the challenge to our attention, to Sam who did the AidPod animation within the video and Luke who had the unenviable task of taking the many takes and putting them together to meet the BFC specification. And finally to Jane who did most of the work filling in the online form with very strict word counts.

I know I’m biased, but I think ColaLife matches what the BFC is about. Pay particular attention to the ‘trimtab’ bit:

Winning the Buckminster Fuller Challenge will require more than a great stand-alone innovation. If for example, your solution emphasizes a new design, material, process, service, tool, technology, or any combination, it is essential that it be part of an integrated strategy dealing with key social, economic, environmental, policy and cultural issues.

The winning solution should exemplify the trimtab principle. Trimtabs are small steering devices used on ships and airplanes which demonstrate how relatively small amounts of leverage, energy, and resources strategically applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change.

Entrants must put forward a bold, visionary, tangible initiative that is focused on a well-defined need of critical importance. Proposed solutions must represent a preferred state model - one that aims to optimize conditions from inception in order to create the most desirable, sustainable, future outcome. Entries should be regionally specific yet globally applicable, and backed up by a solid plan and the capability to move the solution forward.

Read more here.

Fingers crossed.

Filed under: Awards, Coca Cola Campaign
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