Conquering Innovation Fatigue E-Book

Jeffrey Lindsay

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 425

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

This practical guide reveals the nine major "fatigue factors" that can block the path to innovation success, along with solutions to energize innovation. Original advances in innovation practice and new case studies are applied to guide inventors, entrepreneurs, companies, universities, and even policy makers in conquering innovation fatigue. Cost-effective solutions include guidance on intellectual assets, dealing with disruptive innovation, and driving innovation using the "Horn of Innovation" and "Circuit of Innovation" models. A surprising view of DaVinci as an engine of open innovation is presented. Throughout the book, a unique aspect is exploring the journey of innovators, including corporate employees and entrepreneurs, at the often-overlooked personal level using the metaphor of immigrants in a strange land to identify barriers and solutions.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

PART I - INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 - An Introduction to Innovation Fatigue

Common Innovation Fatigue Factors: An Overview

Incentives and Innovation: It’s Not Just About Profit

CHAPTER 2 - The Funnel vs. the “Horn of Innovation™”

The Rise of the “Invention Horn”

PART II - PEOPLE FATIGUE—PROBLEMS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

CHAPTER 3 - Enduring Innovation Fatigue

One Perspective: Farnsworth, the Wronged Inventor

Lessons (First Perspective)

The Other Immigrants: Another Perspective

CHAPTER 4 - Fatigue Factor #1

Unrequited Innovation: The Pain of Others Getting Credit

Avoiding “Theft” within the Corporation (Loss of Recognition)

Avoiding Theft: Tips for Corporate Inventors and Corporations

Exploitation of Inventors and Entrepreneurs

Exploitation and Patent Shortcuts

Avoiding Deception 101: Do Your Due Diligence and Seek Advice

CHAPTER 5 - Fatigue Factor #2

The Dangers of Unhealthy Pride

The Gatorade Syndrome

Inability to Let Go: The One-Man Relay Race

Impatience and Other Infections

Reluctant Marketers

Tips for Innovators

CHAPTER 6 - Fatigue Factor #3

Devil’s Advocates and Other Champions of Defeat

Personal vs. Corporate Gains: Playing it Safe with “Not Now” or “No”

The Unseen Hand—or Fist?

Workarounds: Persistence, Networking, and Multiple Connections

Imagined NIH Syndrome: Inventor Myopia and the Lens of Risk

Tips for Innovators Taking Concepts to Prospective Partners

PART III - FATIGUE FACTORS IN THE ORGANIZATION (STRATEGY, CULTURE, ACTIONS)

CHAPTER 7 - Fatigue Factor #4

A Lesson from Pride Rock

Breaking the Will to Share

Devaluation of the Internal Inventor

Fatigue by Objectives

Fatigue and the Weakness of Corporate Strengths

Fatigue among Senior Innovators

The Young Are at Risk as Well

Thinking with an Accent: A Diversity Problem

Culture Codes for Innovation and Corporate Innovators

Promotion Systems, Performance Management Systems

Listen to the Voice of the Innovator

Learnings

CHAPTER 8 - Unintended Consequences

Learnings

CHAPTER 9 - Fatigue Factor #5

The Armada Effect: Fatigue Through Reshuffling

Leaders Listening to the Wrong Voices—Like Shareholders?

The Foolishness of Crowds Revisited: iPod Skepticism

Errant Metrics in Evaluating Innovation

The Danger of Focusing on Cost Alone: Dismembering the Ecosystem

Learnings

CHAPTER 10 - Fatigue Factor #6

“The Statement We Read to People Like You”

Competitive OI and Connecting with a Personal Touch

Lessons from the British Navy: Why the Cure for Scurvy Took 200 Years to Be Implemented

Learnings

CHAPTER 11 - Case Study on Overcoming Fatigue

“Go Find Out”

18 Months of Solving the Wrong Problem—And Paul’s Conversion on the Road to . . ...

Skepticism, Uncertainty, and Encouragement

Standing His Ground

Certifiably Nuts: Finding the Right Problem to Solve

Connections for Success—and Disappointment

Labor Pains: Birth is Just the Beginning

Learnings

PART IV - EXTERNAL FATIGUE FACTORS

CHAPTER 12 - Fatigue Factor #7

Judicial and PTO Hurdles to Protecting Good Inventions

Enforcement Fatigue

KSR: A Potential Fatigue Factor from the Supreme Court

Fatigue and Weak Property Rights

Business Method Fatigue

Global Fatigue: The Demise and Rise of International Intellectual Property Rights

Learnings

CHAPTER 13 - When Questionable Patents Are Allowed to Sprout

“We Didn’t Know Where to Turn”: A Patent Battle over Sprouts

Innovating for Quality

The Lawsuit

Aftermath

Learnings

CHAPTER 14 - Fatigue Factor #8

Safety Regulations and the Dangers of Risk Aversion

Sarbanes-Oxley: the Dangers of Averting Financial Risk

Sometimes It’s Not Enough to Be Innocent

Crimes of Omission: When Regulations Aren’t Enforced

Recommendations to Innovators

CHAPTER 15 - Orion Energy Systems

Innovation in Business Methods

Orion Asset Management

More Lessons from Orion

Leading Others to Innovate

CHAPTER 16 - Fatigue Factor #9

Skipping School Again: Driving Companies Away from U.S. Universities

The Bayh-Dole Act

Tax-Free Bonds and the University: Additional Barriers to Collaboration

Misaligned Incentives

Other Barriers

Fatigue in Universities

Global Perspective

CHAPTER 17 - Innovation Fatigue in the Pulp and Paper Industries (Forest Bioproducts)

A Proud History of Innovation

The Need for Innovation—and “Innovestment”

The Microcosm at the ’Tute

Other Fatigue Factors for the Industry

A Few Recommendations

Learnings

PART V - FURTHER GUIDANCE

CHAPTER 18 - Guidance for the Lone and Corporate Inventor

Completing the Circuit of Innovation

Expanding the Scope of Intellectual Assets: Trademarks and More

The Need for Multidisciplinary Skills: Da Vinci in the Laboratory

Endurance and Patience: Still Vital for Innovators

Recommendations to Innovators

CHAPTER 19 - Energizing Theory

Introduction to Disruptive Innovation

The Theory of Disruption or the “Christensen Effect”

Facing the Barriers

A Proposed Solution: Disruptive Intellectual Asset Strategy

Insights from Kimberly-Clark’s Efforts

A Few Recommendations

CHAPTER 20 - Further Guidance for Management

Creating a Culture that Inspires Inventors and Innovators

Case Study: Multidisciplinary Innovators in the Oil and Gas Industry and the ...

The Future Oil Field and Need for Data

Solutions from an Unexpected Place

Open Innovation as an Energizing Factor: Completing the OI Circuit

Open Innovation Fatigue Revisited: The Persistence of Closed Innovation

Corporate Energizer: Communities of Practice to Support Innovation

University Considerations

CHAPTER 21 - Da Vinci in the Boardroom?

Adding Value to Open Innovation, or, New Lessons from the Renaissance

Da Vinci and Open Innovation

CHAPTER 22 - The Impact of Financials on Innovation

How to Measure Financials and Their Impact

Innovation Metrics

How Financials May Hinder Innovation

How Financials Can Help Drive Innovation

Possibilities for Positive Organizational Change

Enhancing Corporate Culture

CHAPTER 23 - Guidance to Government and Policy Influencers

Listen to the Voice of the Innovator

Existing Framework

Diversity: The Need to Value and Encourage Innovation from Many Sources

Support Innovation with a Global Vision of Success

Thoughts on Removing External Fatigue Factors

Keep It Simple

CHAPTER 24 - Summary

Top 5 Energizing Factors for Individual Innovators

Top 5 Energizing Factors for Corporations

Top 5 Recommendations for Policy Makers

Index

Copyright © 2009 by Jeffrey Dean Lindsay, Cheryl A. Perkins, and Mukund R. Karanjikar. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Lindsay, Jeffrey D.

Conquering innovation fatigue: overcoming the barriers to personal and corporate success / Jeffrey D. Lindsay, Cheryl A. Perkins, and Mukund Karanjikar. p. cm.

Includes index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-50257-0

1. Technological innovations—Economic aspects. 2. Diffusion of innovations. 3. Success. I. Perkins, Cheryl A. II. Karanjikar, Mukund. III. Title.

HC79.T4L555 2009

658.4’063—dc22

2009001906

To those who yearn to create,To those who see what can be.

Foreword

Innovation is hard work. No matter where you are in the innovation process, there are traps that can slow you down or worse yet, cause you to surrender. As an inventor in a research organization, I experienced this first hand. As a corporate leader, the biggest challenge I currently face is where the next big idea will come from and how it can be guided and nurtured into a commercial success.

In Conquering Innovation Fatigue, Lindsay, Perkins & Karanjikar take a unique approach to highlight what we can learn from the from the metaphor of innovators as immigrants who must overcome many new barriers and challenges in their journey to business success. By drawing upon case studies, they tell stories of success and advances in innovation—and how to turn the drain of fatigue into creative energy to be captured by individuals and organizations.

If innovation were easy, we wouldn’t be talking about it. This book challenges the reader to look at the role they play in the innovation process. Whether you are an inventor, a corporate leader or a policy maker, there are practical examples on how the role you play will either amplify or dampen innovation. There are recommendations that you can implement immediately. For corporate leaders and policy makers, it reminds us to listen to the neglected voice of the innovator. By beginning with targeted innovation inspired by the right strategy and enabled with the right minds—we can breathe life into innovation for our company—or our nation.

In this book, you will find useful tools to guide you through the steps you need to take to inspire, nurture and energize your innovation efforts—be they personal, corporate or national. Some are new and others are useful reminders of steps we should be taking on a daily basis. It will teach you how to:

• Recognize and overcome the nine major innovation fatigue factors.

• Prepare for successful licensing or marketing of inventions with holistic intellectual assets (“360° IA™”) and other tools for success.

• Use the “Circuit of Innovation™” model that guides innovators in connecting their products to the marketplace.

• Avoid the unintended innovation-killers that can result from well-meaning corporate policies and actions.

• Exploit low-cost intellectual assets (not just patents!) to increase the odds of success with disruptive innovation, or reduce the risk of competitive disruption.

• Turn the problematic “innovation funnel” upside down to create more efficient, targeted innovation using the new “Horn of Innovation™” paradigm—a rich music-inspired model that makes much better use of innovator skills and business strategy.

• Tap the innovation power of Da Vinci (but probably not the Da Vinci you know!), as described in sections on “Da Vinci in the Boardroom” and “Da Vinci in the Laboratory.”

• Strengthen open innovation for success, including university-industry collaboration.

Good Luck as you navigate the innovation journey!

Jean E. Spence Executive Vice President Research, Development & Quality Kraft Foods

Preface

There is a personal side to innovation that is often overlooked. In our personal experiences and in our interactions and interviews with numerous innovators, we have found that there are many lessons from the “voice of the innovator” that are often missed when innovation is discussed. Innovation always begins at the individual level, in the minds of human beings. Standing between prospective innovators and success are a host of “innovation fatigue factors” that can discourage and hinder innovation. These fatigue factors affect both individuals—whether employees or independent inventors and entrepreneurs—and entire organizations.

After an overview in Part One, we explore the fatigue factors and their solutions in Parts Two through Four, corresponding to fatigue factors at three levels: individuals, organizations, and the external environment. Finally, in Part Five we explore broader “energizing factors” with further recommendation to individuals, corporations, and policy makers. Sprinkled throughout are case studies of the good and the bad, of the pains of innovation fatigue and the joys of successful innovation.

In addition to what we feel is an original perspective, we offer several original case studies and concepts that may be useful for others. These concepts include the innovation paradigm called “the Horn of Innovation™”—an innovator-centric model that turns the familiar “innovation funnel” around. We also present the “Circuit of Innovation™”—an electrical metaphor for bringing the energy of innovation to the market, “Da Vinci in the Boardroom™”—an approach to innovation that couples open innovation with multidisciplinary talent, and “Disruptive Intellectual Asset Strategy”—an effort to fill a gap in the literature on disruptive innovation by showing how low-cost, proactive intellectual asset strategy can overcome some of the barriers to pursuing disruptive opportunities or averting disruptive threats. (We generally prefer to speak of intellectual assets (IA) rather than intellectual property (IP), a subset of IA that lacks defensive publications and other valuable elements that are not strictly owned.)

Our work is intended for three groups: (1) entrepreneurs and innovators, including the often-overlooked corporate employee involved in R&D or other creative operations, as well as lone inventors, university researchers, and start-ups; (2) corporate leaders and strategists, including those developing strategies for innovation and intellectual assets; and (3) policy makers and influencers.

Through it all, we emphasize innovation at the personal level, seeking to help aspiring innovators find solutions in their spheres of influence. At the same time, we encourage business and political leaders to listen to the “voice of the innovator” and to consider unintended consequences that many tactics and policies may have on innovation.

We often invoke the metaphor of the innovator as an immigrant in a foreign land to describe the gaps that can exist between aspiring innovators and those who don’t speak their language or understand their ways. Leaders of companies, institutions, and even government agencies who learn to deal with the “foreign” nature of innovation can give needed help to “immigrant” innovators and realize added economic success. Open innovation, for example, is a concept based on learning to embrace the foreign. While many speak of it, few succeed because they fail to bridge cultural divides or make their processes “immigrant friendly.”

The story of innovation often involves a journey into unfamiliar territory where at least one person—sometimes an entire company or more—becomes the stranger in a strange land, facing barriers that can bring fatigue and despair. Others have made this tiring journey and can help us understand the path to success. The path of innovation does not need to be so difficult. As we discuss in our chapter on the “Horn of Innovation™,” innovation, like the cornucopia of Greek mythology (based on a goat’s horn that could turn wishes into reality), can truly turn the visions of the human mind into rich bounties that enhance life on this planet. There’s no reason to let fatigue get in the way.

Our quest to help others overcome innovation fatigue will be an ongoing effort. The blog at InnovationFatigue.com will provide additional thoughts, resources for readers, and a place to share your feedback and experiences. Please join us there as we seek to help more innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders find the path to innovation success.

About the Authors

Jeffrey D. Lindsay, Ph.D., Director of Solution Development at Innovationedge (Neenah, Wisconsin) and former Corporate Patent Strategist at Kimberly-Clark, is an innovation enthusiast with over 100 patents in numerous areas. Prior to 13 years of experience in the innovation community at Kimberly-Clark, Jeff was an Associate Professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology on the Georgia Tech Campus. Jeff is a registered U.S. patent agent with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. Jeff is chair of the Forest Bioproducts Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is a member of the Licensing Executives Society. Jeff blogs at InnovationFatigue.com and SharpIP.com.

Cheryl A. Perkins is a sought-after keynote speaker and innovation thought leader who has traveled the world for more than 25 years to present her expertise in innovation to executives and innovation leaders. Cheryl is the founder and President of Innovationedge, a strategic global innovation consultancy that helps executives define their strategy and deliver breakthrough innovations, and helps inventors create strategic corporate partnerships for commercial success. Before founding Innovationedge, Cheryl served as Kimberly-Clark’s Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, where she led the global health and hygiene company’s innovation and enterprise growth organizations. Cheryl was named by BusinessWeek as one of the “Top 25 Champions of Innovation in the World.” She is also Chair of the International Congress on Co-Development, a leading forum advancing open innovation. Cheryl blogs at InnovationEdge.com/blog.

Mukund R. Karanjikar, Ph.D., is a senior associate at Technology Holding LLC (Salt Lake City, Utah), a firm specializing in commercialization of breakthrough innovations focused on the area of energy and environment. Prior to Technology Holding, he was a consultant assisting energy companies in creating innovation alliances. He also worked with Chevron Technology Ventures LLC (Chevron Corporation) and Rallis India Limited (a TATA enterprise). He has published articles on topics including idea management, new product development, and open innovation. Mukund has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the University Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India. He serves on proposal review boards of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, and is Chair of the Management Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Acknowledgments

Numerous people and organizations have assisted our work. We thank the clients of Innovationedge for sharing their experiences and their passion for innovation, and giving us an opportunity to make a difference. We thank our families for their support and encouragement. Thanks to John Cronin, Ted Farrington, Casey Hill, Ivan Schrodt, Rob Williamson, and Terry Adams for early encouragement and ongoing discussions with Jeff in intellectual asset and business strategy. Thanks to Verna Allee for important inspiration on ecosystems for innovation. We appreciate the information and guidance we received from Neal Verfuerth, Paul Rasband, Henry Chesbrough, Merrilea Mayo, Steve Goers, Frank Crikelair, Ashley Crikelair, Nancy Edwards Cronin, Doug Dugal, Mahendra Doshi, Nicole Marshall, Walter Reade, Kendra Lindsay, Meliah Lindsay, Fung-jou Chen, Mark Perkins, Alexander B. Magoun, Woody Rice, Chakshu Kalra, A.S. Rao, Anil K. Gupta, Amy Achter, Tom Mildenhall, Rosann Kaylor, Rex Lewis, Oliver Schwabe, Scott Rickert, Robert Gruetzmacher, Nancy Hermanson, and many others, including some who prefer anonymity. Thanks to the Management Roundtable for opportunities to help lead others in open innovation. Thanks also to Mark Benyo of Benyo Designs for creating the fatigue factor icons and providing other assistance.

PART I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

An Introduction to Innovation Fatigue

“Ingenuity should receive a liberal encouragement.”

Thomas Jefferson

Exhibit 1.1Are there better paths to avoid fatigue in the maze of innovation?

Conquering innovation fatigue begins with understanding the innovation fatigue begins with understanding the journey of innovators at a personal level. It begins with recognizing the “fatigue factors” they face and then seeking for solutions to help them reach success. A useful metaphor for the innovator’s journey is that of the immigrant. In nearly every nation, there is a history of tension between established citizens and newcomers. The newcomers generally lack resources, don’t understand how “the system” works, and struggle to understand the language of the natives. They may be ridiculed for their different ways and mistrusted by those in power, but the newcomers who persevere and conquer often reshape history and create prosperity for generations to come.