Episode 37: How to Make Open Innovation Work

Episode 37 of the Process Transformers podcast, hosted by SAP SE, titled "Episode 37: How to Make Open Innovation Work" was published on March 25, 2026 and runs 38 minutes.

March 25, 2026 ·38m · Process Transformers

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Summary

Open innovation means working with external partners to discover, test, and scale new ideas faster than you could alone. But, what does it really take to make open innovation work inside large organizations? In this episode, Lukas Egger speaks with Diana.Download the ⁠⁠episode transcript⁠⁠=====Open innovation sounds exciting. In reality, it often fails quietly. We start by redefining open innovation. It is not customer feedback or design thinking. It is about partnering with organizations that have fundamentally different strengths such as startups or universities to do what you cannot do alone. The goal is not to remove weaknesses but to combine complementary capabilities. Then we get into the real challenge, choosing the right setup. Accelerators, venture arms, and university partnerships all serve different purposes. There is no one size fits all. Every approach comes with trade offs such as speed versus scale, visibility versus discretion, and short term results versus long term bets. The biggest blocker, however, is internal. Most open innovation efforts fail not because of external partners but because of misalignment inside the organization. Conflicting incentives, unclear expectations, and lack of ownership stop progress before it even starts. AI adds a new layer to this. It makes prototyping faster and more accessible than ever, allowing teams to test ideas quickly and learn in real time. But while ideas move faster, structures and incentives often do not. Without adapting how organizations work through sandboxes, clearer boundaries, and better alignment, AI risks amplifying chaos instead of impact. We close with a hard truth. Innovation requires real trade offs. Without changing incentives, supporting middle management, and making room for exploration, even the best ideas will stall. =====Guest: ⁠⁠⁠ Diana Joseph Dr. Diana Joseph is a design thinking leader and innovation consultant who works at the intersection of learning, entrepreneurship, and organizational change. With a doctorate in Learning Sciences and experience as a high-tech innovation director, she blends motivation psychology, education, and Silicon Valley methods like design thinking and Lean Startup to help people and organizations become more innovative and entrepreneurial. She founded the Corporate Accelerator Forum (CAF) to connect corporate innovation leaders and unlock open innovation across ecosystems, and supports startups through Click | the Startup Accelerator for Corporate Partnership. Diana speaks and works on open innovation, leadership alignment, corporate partnerships, democratizing AI, and building cultures of agency, learning, and creative confidence. She is also a startup coach, mentor, board leader, and the author of Open Innovation Works. If you want to learn more about:Our guest: ⁠LinkedIn | Webpage SAP Signavio:⁠https://www.signavio.com⁠Email us your questions or comments: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Episode Description

Download the ⁠⁠episode transcript⁠⁠

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Open innovation sounds exciting. In reality, it often fails quietly. We start by redefining open innovation. It is not customer feedback or design thinking. It is about partnering with organizations that have fundamentally different strengths such as startups or universities to do what you cannot do alone. The goal is not to remove weaknesses but to combine complementary capabilities. Then we get into the real challenge, choosing the right setup. Accelerators, venture arms, and university partnerships all serve different purposes. There is no one size fits all. Every approach comes with trade offs such as speed versus scale, visibility versus discretion, and short term results versus long term bets. The biggest blocker, however, is internal. Most open innovation efforts fail not because of external partners but because of misalignment inside the organization. Conflicting incentives, unclear expectations, and lack of ownership stop progress before it even starts. AI adds a new layer to this. It makes prototyping faster and more accessible than ever, allowing teams to test ideas quickly and learn in real time. But while ideas move faster, structures and incentives often do not. Without adapting how organizations work through sandboxes, clearer boundaries, and better alignment, AI risks amplifying chaos instead of impact. We close with a hard truth. Innovation requires real trade offs. Without changing incentives, supporting middle management, and making room for exploration, even the best ideas will stall.

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Guest: ⁠⁠⁠ Diana Joseph

Dr. Diana Joseph is a design thinking leader and innovation consultant who works at the intersection of learning, entrepreneurship, and organizational change. With a doctorate in Learning Sciences and experience as a high-tech innovation director, she blends motivation psychology, education, and Silicon Valley methods like design thinking and Lean Startup to help people and organizations become more innovative and entrepreneurial. She founded the Corporate Accelerator Forum (CAF) to connect corporate innovation leaders and unlock open innovation across ecosystems, and supports startups through Click | the Startup Accelerator for Corporate Partnership. Diana speaks and works on open innovation, leadership alignment, corporate partnerships, democratizing AI, and building cultures of agency, learning, and creative confidence. She is also a startup coach, mentor, board leader, and the author of Open Innovation Works.

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