Develop crowd competitions that work

I love the idea of crowd competitions probably because in many ways they're democratizing and often enabled by the massive advances in communication technology we've had. Ahmad Ashkar, the CEO of the Hult Prize, provides a framework for how to develop competitions that succeed (HBR) - read the whole thing:

But to effectively harness the power of the crowd, you have to engage it carefully. Over the past four years, we've developed a well-defined set of principles that guide our annual "challenge," (lauded by Bill Clinton in TIME magazine as one of the top five initiatives changing the world for the better) that produces original and actionable ideas to solve social issues.

Companies like Netflix, General Electric, and Proctor & Gamble have also started "challenging the crowd" and employing many of these principles to tackle their own business roadblocks. If you're looking to spark disruptive and powerful ideas that benefit your company, follow these guidelines to launch an engaging competition