You've been working at a small start-up for a while now when a large, deep-pocketed corporation comes knocking, asking you to join its innovation team. Should you take the job? Will this be the chance to exercise your entrepreneurial imagination in a more secure environment with ample assets? Or will you end up drowning in bureaucracy, pining for the white-knuckled start-up pace you're used to?
We have similar concerns whenever we consider accepting an innovation engagement. Since 2009 we've conducted close to 500 innovation-related projects with about 100 large companies. Drawing on that experience, we've developed a set of questions that helps us to determine how effective our innovation efforts are likely to be, before we agree to sign on. Asking the five questions below can give you a sense of how receptive a company is likely to be to the uncertainties, pace, and culture innovators need to do their best work.
