“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦.”

It’s a common request in outsourcing and one that seems logical. Experience means fewer mistakes, faster results, and less risk… right?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 “𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲”

Too often, outsourcing is approached like matching puzzle pieces - find a person or firm who’s done the same thing using the same tools. While this might make sense for repeatable tasks or regulated industries, it can limit creativity and trap your product in an optimized-for-the-past trajectory.

𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩.

𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Some of the most impactful inventions are borrowed brilliance:

• The printing press was inspired by the wine press • Velcro came from studying burrs stuck in a dog’s fur • Modern GPS relies on principles from astronomy and relativity

None of these would have emerged from a strict “has done this before” hiring filter.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

It’s not about discarding expertise - it’s about valuing transferable experience:

→ A team that built real-time firmware for industrial robots might be a great partner for a new consumer health wearable → Engineers who created secure embedded Linux for aerospace might offer fresh ideas for your next-gen connected appliance

Cross-domain experience brings in mental models and strategies your competitors may never consider.

𝗔 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

Instead of asking: ❌ Have you done this exact thing before?

Try asking: ✅ What kinds of problems have you solved? ✅ What constraints did you work within? ✅ Have you worked across different domains and technologies? ✅ Can you challenge our assumptions - not just execute them?

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, not just check boxes. If you want incremental improvement, hire for sameness. If you want meaningful differentiation, hire for insight, adaptability, and the courage to cross-pollinate ideas.

At Wolff Electronic Design, we solve hard problems with broad technical depth. Whether it’s consumer, medical, industrial, or something that doesn’t fit neatly into a category, we bring fresh perspectives grounded in real engineering experience.

Let’s talk about how outsourcing for innovation might look for your product.

By @Greg Burk originally originally posted on LinkedIn

#outsourcing #innovation #WolffElectronicDesign