A recent issue of Business 2.0 magazine printed a list called 50 People Who Matter Now.In number one place was you. This is cheeky and provocative in equal measure but it’s also 100% correct. Not so long ago, companies created departments to create innovation. But the result was often that innovation was turned into a state secret. The only people who knew what was going on – and therefore the only people who could really contribute – were the Chosen Ones inside the innovation department. Not surprisingly, this approach limited both the quantity and quality of ideas so companies started searching for new ways of developing new ideas. One new idea is distributed or open source innovation in which customers (or anyone else for that matter) are the co-creators of the products and services that they consume. The idea began in software when developers posted code on the Internet and asked other programmers to fix the bugs. This was networked innovation and the original motive was altruistic because the final product was often given away for free. Then some bright sparks started to apply the principle of asking you and me to invent or develop all manner of products. There are now open source encyclopedias, open source cola recipes, open source newspapers, open source computer games and open source beer. There’s even an open source Hollywood film script. The open idea is even making its presence felt in the pharmaceuticals industry with sufferers grouping together to fund everything from information databases to biotech start-ups.