Connect and Develop 4

Connect and Develop

Proctor and Gamble’s Current Framework

Derek Brown

ETS 604 Innovations and Entrepreneurship

Professor Balsy

September 29th, 2008

Connect and Develop is a spider-web of endless opportunities where an organization can not

only utilize the collective intelligence of their respective organization but can also scout out the
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worlds brightest intelligence and innovative designs, products, and ambitions. Huston and

Sakkab first explain Procter & Gamble’sconnect and develop framework within the Pringles

snack chip product line. They explain how P & G’s executives took this idea and launched it

from conception to end product in under a year and that the only way they did it was with the

Connect and Develop strategy (Huston & Sakkab). By creating a “technology brief” that was

sent to all of the global networks associated with P & G they found a small bakery in Bologna,

Italy that was operated by a University Professorwho also developed baking equipment. Within

his invention, P & G had discovered a way over night to produce Pringles chips with various

messages, logos, pictures, and symbols. In contrast to Connect and Develop, it is no wonder that

P&G was able to find a readily available technology for use at their fingertips. One thing that

was not discussed throughout the Pringles Connect and Develop timeline was the money and

compensation given to the professor and baker from Bologna, Italy. The point being that a

company the size of P&G does not and would not have any problem buying such technologies

for usein a “just in time” situation. The question here is whether or not P&G truly pioneered a

conquest to find something around the world or simply had the financial resources and company

size to be able to link the two together as they needed when they needed. If this is the case,

finding this type of invention probably could have been done through Google and the Internet.

Connect and Develop networks and operating structures are the way of the future but not

primarily because of management decisions. If you look at the simple yet effective way the

internet infrastructure is set up, it is eerily similar to the Connect and Develop strategy. You are

simply opening an avenue in the wide world of information in the hopes that needs are connected

to createsolutions. Huston and Sakkab said, “We knew that most of P&G’s best innovations had

come from connecting ideas across internal businesses. And after studying the performance of a

small number of products we’d acquired beyond our own labs, we knew that external
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connections could produce highly profitable innovations, too. Betting that these connections

were the key to future growth, Lafley made it our goal to acquire 50% of our innovations outside

the company” (Huston & Sakkab). The keywords here are connecting and acquired. By

connecting the dots of a project internally and externally, P&G is able to remain profitable while

minimizing risk and financial involvement. Contrasting the connecting of dots idea is whether or

not the innovation or idea was genuinely acquired or was purchased with convenience. If the

company is merely watching another company take all of the risk and jumping on their backs at

the most opportune time for themselves, that is not really Connecting and Developing…rather it

is Connecting and waiting for the people who did the leg work to disappear and move over

conveniently.

Huston and Sakkab talk about how with this type of process, P&G is able to look at consumer’s

needs, identify promising ideas, apply internal R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and purchasing

capabilities which produces a better product cheaper and faster (Huston &Sakkab).

So what does Connect and Develop take to be successful? Huston and Sakkab explain that in

order for this theory of management to prevail, the top executives of the company must have

“day-to-day accountability for its vision, operations, and performance” (Huston & Sakkab).

They also are quick to point out that Procter & Gamble’s development and implementation of

Connect and Develop has is the result of many years of hard work and determination to bring the

best products conceivable to the market. The three core requirements for this to be successful are

as follows:

1) Never assume that “ready to go” ideas found outside are truly ready to go. There will always be

development work to do, including risky scale-up.

2) Don’t underestimate the internal resources required. You’ll need a full-time, senior executive to

run any connect-and-develop initiative.

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3) Never launch without a mandate from the CEO. Connect and Develop cannot succeed if it’s

cordoned off in R&D. It must be a top-down, companywide strategy (Huston & Sakkab).

From corporate work experience, this seems like an exciting management structure to be

involved with. It is not the typical show up and look only within your own sphere of

possibilityto find solutions to problems. I also believe that because the world is globalizing,

strategies like these are what ultimately is what is going to make the economic world self-

realizedwhich is essentially what is happening with connect and develop. You have historically

strong companies involved with each other and sharing information which never used to be

allowable. The only thing I challenge is whether or not it needs to be from the Top Down. The

only reason this article states that it needs to be so, from what I can see, is to maintain control.

This could get very trick within and entire organization, turning the innovative Connect &

Development framework into a top down, do what I tell you management presence which is

never good for the culture and environment of a progressive environment.

Works Cited
Huston, L., & Sakkab, N. (2008, September 29). Connect and Develop. Cambridge,
MA, U.S.A.