Innovative projects are a team effort, but bringing in outside experts can feel like walking a tightrope: How do you harness their skills without handing over your best ideas? The nightmare scenario is partnering with a consultancy or agency to help launch an exciting innovation, only to see a suspiciously similar concept pop up in their work for another client. It’s a common fear—and a growing one. A European Commission study found that 20% of businesses faced attempted theft of confidential information, with nearly 40% believing the risk is on the rise. Our own survey of 230 construction firms showed that 79% feared their proprietary knowledge could be acquired and reused by a partner without their consent. This concern isn’t unique to construction—our follow-up survey across five different industries, including advertising, consulting, engineering, event management, and film making, found that nearly 75% of respondents were somewhat to extremely concerned about leakage risk.
