One thing is for sure: It’s an uncertain time for everyone. The global outbreak of the coronavirus is impacting industries and people differently. As people stay inside, cook, and entertain themselves at home, kitchen products, home improvement products, pet products, and puzzles and games are flying off the shelves. This is good news for inventors, who are concerned not only for the health and well-being of their families, neighbors, and themselves, but also their industry.
They are wondering: What does the future holds in terms of open innovation?
Will companies be more open or less open to working with them to develop new product ideas?
Should they keep inventing?
Should they change up their approach?
Should they invent in different industries now?
They’re looking for direction — some information to help them decide how to move forward with their creativity.
So, I’m asking inventor-friendly companies to ask them directly: What’s going on? How is business being affected? And what does that mean for creative people with new ideas for products?
I reached out to Hasbro first because the toy industry is a leader in open innovation. Toy and game companies have been licensing new toy and game ideas from inventors for a century. Many of the world’s best-known toys weren’t invented in-house, they were licensed from independent inventors.
Hasbro President and Chief Operating Officer John Frascotti was kind enough to answer my questions in an email.
What steps have you taken concerning the coronavirus as far as your employees?
“We made the decision to temporarily close our Hasbro offices globally, so the majority of our employees are working remotely. Our main priority right now is the safety and health of our employees and their families – as well as that of all people around the world.
We are fortunate to have best-in-class technology solutions in place that allow us to continue working together and being productive while working remotely. We are also communicating with our employees frequently to ensure everyone is aware of new developments and decisions as they are made.
We have established a cross-functional task force that meets every morning to discuss ongoing issues related to the health crisis and is preparing for our eventual return to our offices.
While it’s impossible to predict exactly when we will be returning to each of our offices, we want to make sure that when we do, we do it right.
What difficulties have you had to address with your employees working from home?
Our task force ensures that we’re addressing the concerns of our employees and providing the necessary guidance and support they need as this situation continues to evolve.
We’ve provided employees with additional flexibility, recognizing the inherent challenge in working remotely while balancing caregiving and personal responsibilities.
And in general, knowing that everyone is under different pressures, we’ve asked employees to support each other and to be understanding of the fact that their colleagues are all facing different circumstances at home.
Have you seen any benefits from your employees working from home that are unexpected?
I am incredibly proud of the resilience and dedication we’ve seen from Hasbro employees. As we’ve all been adjusting to this “new normal,” both personally and professionally, our teams have come together to really support each other as individuals and as one global team. Our teams have been incredibly resourceful in creating innovative new ways to work together, and having some fun while doing so.
One example of this is a global initiative that launched this week called Bring Home the Fun which is inspired by our purpose to make the world a better place for children and their families. Our teams have compiled resources to support families around the world as they spend extended time at home and indoors. As part of the launch, our creative team created a powerful video featuring our employees to send a personal message to other parents and caregivers about our shared experience during this difficult time.
Our teams also worked quickly to respond to the need within our communities. We are proud to be supporting Save the Children and No Kid Hungry in their efforts to provide nutritious meals, books and learning resources to those children and families most in need. We’ve also donated thousands of Hasbro toys and games to continue to inspire creativity and fun for vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic.
How is this affecting new product development?
Our product development teams are being tremendously productive using all of the technology and tools available to them, and they continue to work collaboratively with their teams as well as with all of our partners.
At this time, we don’t anticipate any impact on our product development since factories have continued to ramp production after being closed at the start of the year, and are very close to being be back to planned capacity.
More people will be working from home with their families close by. Has this created any opportunities for new games?
Yes, we’ve already seen our teams feeling inspired by the time they’re spending at home with their families, and they’re pitching new ideas for toys and games based on their experience.
We are all living through this unique experience, and we have an opportunity, through our toys and games, to help families connect, play and laugh together.
What games and toys are people currently ordering?
Several Hasbro brands are resonating as people spend more time at home, including Play-Doh, as kids engage in more creative play, Nerf, as they’re looking for active fun, and games for families to play together. Within our entertainment business, Peppa Pig is now officially the most-watched series on demand in the world.
We’ve been incredibly heartened to see so many people embracing our toys, games and entertainment to help cope with the new reality of extended time at home.
Any advice, tips, and strategies you’d offer toy inventors at the moment?
As I look for a silver lining in this situation, I have been incredibly inspired by the innovation coming from people across the world.
I believe that the significant changes we are experiencing in our daily lives will inspire new ideas and new inventions that might not have been relevant a month ago. We talk about our commitment to “reinventing invention” at Hasbro and, more than ever before, we recognize that great ideas can come from anyone and anywhere.
The current situation is forcing millions of people to embrace a new reality, and it’s shifted how we think, act and feel. This type of fundamental change in daily life is difficult, of course, but it will allow the creators in all of us to come out.
What’s the message you’d like to share with the creative community?
Right now, creativity and innovation are more important than ever as we all look for new ways to cope with the challenges we are all facing in a very different day-to-day while remaining hopeful and positive that we’ll get through this together.
We are very much open to all new ideas and embrace the opportunity to work with the creative community to bring new ideas to life that can help us achieve our mission of creating the world best play and entertainment experiences.”
During this very uncertain time, it helps to have leaders in open innovation like Hasbro take a very proactive role in communicating with inventors.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com.
