Open Innovation Works

Open Innovation Works: Successfully Leveraging Your External Ecosystem for Impactful Change is a hands-on guide for leaders of large organizations ready to move beyond the limitations of internal R&D. As global challenges such as regulatory pressure, supply chain instability, and talent shortages intensify, the need for agile, externally-driven innovation has never been greater. This timely book presents a clear, practical framework for tapping into the power of external ecosystems ― working with startups, universities, and industry partners to unlock transformative technologies, services, and business models.

Drawing from real-world case studies and cutting-edge research, acclaimed authors Diana Joseph, Dan Toma and Esther Gons break down the complexity of open innovation into actionable strategies that deliver results. Innovation leaders, executives, and policymakers will find essential tools to align teams, choose engagement models, and build impactful partnerships. Enhanced by pedagogically rich visuals and illustrations, Open Innovation Works is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to future-proof their organisation through collaborative innovation.

Diana Joseph, PhD, is an entrepreneur and learning scientist who learned about corporate innovation in the field through years at companies like Adobe and Citrix. As CEO of the Corporate Accelerator Forum, Diana guides corporates who innovate through startup partnership. She translates her insights into powerful and practical in-person and online events, ecosystem experiences and consulting engagements. Diana is the founder of Click | the Startup Accelerator for Corporate Partnership, a preparatory engine for startups who need to create healthier deals with large organizations. Diana co-hosted the Ecosystem Show podcast, and currently hosts a Fireside Chat series about corporate/startup partnership.

Dan Toma is an innovation thought leader and co-author of the award-winning book ‘The Corporate Startup: How established companies can create successful innovation ecosystems’ voted the 2018 management book of the year by the British Library & Chartered Management Institute and ‘Innovation Accounting’ voted the 2022 book of the year for Innovation and Business Intelligence by Axiom. Puzzled by the question ‘Why are innovative products mainly launched by startups?’ He focuses on enterprise innovation transformation and specifically on the changes blue-chip organizations need to make to allow for new ventures to be built in the corporate setting.

Esther Gons is the founder and CEO of GroundControl. The Innovation Accounting software platform that helps corporate ventures measuring de-risking process of new ventures. GroundControl works with clients such as DHL, Colgate Palmolive and AES. Esther is co-author of The Corporate Startup and Innovation Accounting books. She is a startup mentor and corporate strategy coach on innovation and startups. She has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and has mentored several hundred startups so far, as an investor, advisor, lead mentor in the Rockstart Accelerator programs, and several corporate innovation labs.