In NPD universe, much like in other facets of business and life, there is the passé, the mainstream, the leading edge…and then there’s the fringe.

The fringe is often maligned and dismissed because ideas tend to be more conceptual, at times way out there and sometimes downright zany. However the zany zone is the Petri Dish of creativity – where random cells are free to collide with their not-so-synergistic peers and bind with others. It’s an experimental lab for ideas. The fringe is fed by a common language: conversation.

There are key drivers that make this such a fertile sandbox:

• interest in subject(s)
• diversity of experiences
• hap-hazard direction
• multiple perspectives
• order of things
• timing of input
• reaction to newness
• make-up of participants

These are factors that provide the serendipitous course that occasions accidental discoveries. To leverage this conversation effectively, one must provide a environment that conveys trust, promotes affinity and rewards valuable contribution. It is also important to have the richest mix of inputs to the conversation, including internal operatives to help moderate, document and leverage opportunities as they arise; along with an open community of collaborators, co-creators, experts and newbies.

The fringe used to be made up of informal conversations with colleagues, peers, the occasional partner and a smattering of customers. But speed, scale and the empowerment of the customer have changed the rules of the game. Now the fringe is in cyberspace (not as scary as it sounds) and can be tapped into on demand. The pulse of trends for new products can be instantly palpable with a couple of keystrokes in the right sandbox. And these sandboxes work best when they’re open.

Open sandboxes are still rare birds on the corporate landscape and are often confined to an R&D department or hidden “skunk works” project inside a BU. But that is changing because the new logic is dictating it. There is a treasure trove of insight, creativity and financial opportunity at the disposal of every organization right now. All it takes is the will to start the right conversation.