Open Innovation is not the only link between last week's conversation with Max Storto from the Xylem Innovation Labs, and this week's deep dive with Ann and Joshua. Indeed, in just a minute, we'll delve into a paradigm-shifting model we touched on last week: Open Innovation. 

To ensure we have a common understanding of the term, Open Innovation fundamentally alters how companies think about their innovation process. If you remember my conversation with Glenn Vicevic from Veolia, he defined Open Innovation as Innovation that's not closed. We had a good laugh, still, it's true: the Idea is to break open the former R&D silos, to enter the age of porous boundaries and shading frontiers, where external ideas and technologies flow into the organization, and internal ideas flow out into the broader ecosystem.

Long before this got to be a thing in the Water Sector, we've seen companies like Procter & Gamble, flipping their R&D approach to connect with external innovators. They sourced ideas from around the globe, leading to breakthroughs like the Swiffer. 

To take a more techie reference, consider how Apple's App Store empowers an army of developers to build upon iOS, creating value for both Apple and the broader user community. It's a win-win scenario, optimizing resources, and accelerating market-ready solutions.

But why is this a pivotal discussion for the water sector? Open Innovation could be the key to unlocking new technologies, sustainable practices, and financial models that address pressing water issues - you know, the ones that just got evaluated as a multi-trillion dollars business opportunity by CDP - if you missed that one, go check my YouTube channel for more. 

But for you listening to this, why does all of that matter: well, companies that successfully adopt Open Innovation practices could leapfrog in growth and impact. They could be faster to ride trend waves, have a more efficient use of their capital, put technology adoption on steroids, and if you're a regular of this podcast, you know how that's the game changer.

Hence if, for sure, everything can't be painted in pink, and silver bullets still don't exist, getting a glimpse of the way Evoqua leveraged open innovation strategies to inspire your own innovation approaches is quite a generous gift from Ann and Joshua, which really didn't hold back when it comes to sharing. 

You'll leave this episode understanding the vital metrics and benchmarks to assess Open Innovation opportunities, as well as actionable tips for investors, in-house strategists, and entrepreneurs keen to leverage this model before it becomes an industry norm.

Remember, if you appreciate the value shared today and for free, you can help me out tremendously by sharing this episode with a friend, a colleague, your boss, or your team, if you're new here make sure to subscribe, I insist, it's entirely free, and it helps me to keep getting incredible guests on that microphone. Last word before we take off, if you're in New York on the 19th of September and you like free sharing of incredible water value, you may want to join the Rethinking Water Conference at the Forum at Columbia University, the link is in the description, and I'll be there the entire day to record some more interviews. Come share a recycled wastewater beer with me in the evening, and I'll meet you on the other side!

➡️ Check out the entire article on how Evoqua deployed Open Innovation to turn the tides!