Innovation Brokering

“Innovation is often given a complex definition. We prefer the simple one: ‘new ideas that work’.”
- Geoff Mulgan

Innovation is everywhere. From the advertisement on TV to the design of mobile phone in your pocket to the services delivered on the streets of your city. The old usage”Necessity is the mother of invention” drives many from NGO’s, Social Entrepreneurs to the big organizations worldwide to bring creativity in providing solutions for the local or global problems.

Have you ever seen any analogy between Thomas Edison, the famous inventor of the electric bulb and IDEO, a design and innovation based consultancy based in USA? Both have implemented “Innovation or Technology brokering” into their practices to bring innovation into their products. The beauty of Innovation Brokering is not inventing something new to the world but it is the ability to reimage and recreate a product while using old ones. Edison didn’t invent the electric light but he leveraged the different existing technologies to make a better light bulb. On the same concept, IDEO has developed over 3000 new products in over 40 different industries since it was founded in 1978. Their designers work with companies from different industries, to get broad view of the latest technologies available worldwide and thus develop innovative and efficient products. IDEO has developed slit valve for specialized bicycle water bottle after getting an idea from similar valves being used in shampoo bottles. The improvement phases in telephone also illustrate the technology brokering. As the first generation phones were moved to cordless and now to mobile phones.

Innovation Brokering shifts the focus from R&D teams sitting in closed labs and inventing something new to making R&D scientists interact directly with customers and bring about innovations by combining earlier existing inventions. R&D teams now work in collaboration with marketing and manufacturing people. Innovation Brokering link with the concept of empathetic design (user friendly design) and provide solutions to particular problems of customers. Thus it paves the way for not only “Thinking out of the box” but also “Thinking into other boxes”.

Innovation Brokers exploit past to create future. They perform a four-step process to bring about innovation. First, they capture good ideas from both within and outside the organization. They closely analyze the environment to get the pulse of the unfilled needs and desires. Secondly, they try to keep the ideas alive. Generally a company loses ideas when employees walk away. So there should be a proper mechanism to have a record of all ideas. Then in the next step they imagine new uses of these ideas. How can they draw meaning out of these ideas through innovations? Finally they put the promising ideas to test.

Often the closed innovation syndrome support NIH (Not Invented Here) behavior. It means the corporate intentionally or unintentionally avoids certain knowledge because it was not invented within the organization. On the other hand open innovation systems support “Wisdom of Crowds” i.e. the ideas coming from different directions and even reaching out to broader public for contribution. The Googling Innovation (Google- search engine) also promotes creative ideas from everywhere. The employees are given 20% time to do the pet projects, which are unrelated to their core work. Wal-Mart also continues to grow through innovations in the inventory management. Sampling foundation also follows this democratization of innovation. The focus of foundation is TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). TED website presents video and audio downloads of the conference speakers to the public and thus promoting ideas at large. Serving the social cause is considered above all. Even innovation can do miracles in this. Hopelab created by Pam (wife of ebay cofounder, Pierre) develop a video game that motivates young cancer patients to comply with the requirements of the treatment.

Conclusion:
In the business world, the innovation is a binding concern. If a company doesn’t adapt to changing realities, it risks losing its position in the market. It can be difficult to find time from our busy schedules and think about doing thins in a different way. Too often we operate on autopilot. But if we make it a habit of thinking differently it would bring a sea change in our lives and many useful innovative solutions can be generated in the process.

Innovation @ Siemens

Open Innovation @ Siemens: By Mr.Mukul Saxena- Head, Siemens Corporate Technology India Labs

Scribed by Lokesh V. on listening to his talk at CII Innovation Forum at IIM-B

It is said that Research is transforming money into knowledge but Innovation transforming knowledge into money. And the fact that successful innovations can create economic value.

For Siemens, Innovation is lifeblood.
At Siemens, around 32,300 researchers and developers at various locations in 30 countries throughout the world work on innovations. 55,000 plus patents demonstrates their power of innovation – making Siemens as one of the world’s most innovative companies. In 2008 Siemens registered 8,200 inventions. During the same period, 5,000 patent applications were filed – which amounts to 38 inventions and 23 patent applications each working day.

At Siemens, the definition for Innovation is:
· Adding high value for its customers
· Solutions for major market growths
· A Trend Setter
· Offering Innovative Technologies & Solutions for Important Aspects of Living

Innovation results in S-M-A-R-T value products

· Simple
· Maintenance- friendly
· Affordable
· Reliable & Robust
· Timely to market

Siemens’ innovations have changed the world

Industry - From the first electronic controls – to fully automated machines
Energy - From the invention of the dynamo – to the world’s most efficient gas
Turbines
Healthcare - From the first views inside the body – to full body 3D scan


Most recent Innovations at Siemens:

Somatom Definition Flash: Worldwide first CT with fastest imaging and lowest radiation
Efficient power transport (HVDC): the new 800-kV high-voltage, directcurrent transmission system minimizes power losses
Digital factory: virtual factory makes production more efficient and flexible

Tools used by Siemens to ensure the success of the innovation process
Siemens’ innovation framework enables and supports the quality of their innovation processes
The Pictures of the Future method helps them track future trends early and understand them
Innovation benchmarking ensures their technology leadership
Lead Customer Feedback – achieving success together
Their Culture of Innovation fosters inventors and inventions


Conclusion:
With the ever changing business scenarios, innovation has become the need of the hour. The ‘Picture of the Future (PoF)’ is mind-boggling, which draws the visual scenario of technology and its applications (You can download free copy of the PoF issue from net).Siemens encourages the ideas internal source as well as external sources and believes in Open Innovation. At Siemens innovation process begins and ends with a customer. The end note is, Innovation = Invention + Market success.