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survive,but are eventually mangled and Orville Wright,but few realize lyzed and categorized more than While there's obviously a lot
<br /> to death when people fight over that their competition, Glen Cur- 200,000 patents, identifying corn- more to their process, the point is
<br /> who gets credit,become scared that tis,was the first to sell an airplane, mon templates in the creative that these researchers start the in-
<br /> change will make their jobs obso- to fly from one city to another,and process.His students further Bevel- novation process with an existing
<br /> e or require them to learn a new to obtain a pilot's license. The oped his ideas and today the TRIZ product, rather than a free-for-all
<br /> ' ,or argue over whose budget it Wright brothers spun their wheels technique (that's a Russian acro- brainstorming session about cus-
<br /> should come out of. for five years, being so afraid to nym for "theory for inventive Comers and their unmet needs.The
<br /> Besides, innovation doesn't just share ideas that they wouldn't al- problem solving") is widely used researchers have found that peo-
<br /> happen overnight or once a year at low anyone to see theirs. Curtis by engineers throughout the world. pie work best within the con-
<br /> some mystical off-site manage- believed in shared success and col- Altshuller's templates of innova- straints of a defined problem.Fac-
<br /> ment meeting. It is the CEO's re- laborated with others to solve tion are the basis for work done by ing a blank slate with the label of
<br /> sponsibility to create an environ- problems and make improvements researchers in Israel, who have "innovation"paralyzes most of us.
<br /> ment in which innovation is just to his airplane, eventually becom- found that most successful product So let me challenge you, like I
<br /> part of what people do. CEOs can ing more commercially successful innovations fit into at least one did my manufacturing CEO
<br /> do that by communicating a clear than the Wright brothers, of five patterns: 1) subtraction- friends: Solve your problems by
<br /> picture of some Tufure state of the In the same manner, people in removing components or attribut- forgetting the things you can't con-
<br /> organization, and helping every- organizations today hold their in- es from a current product;2) mul- trol. Instead,limit your efforts to
<br /> one understand how their job fits novations tightly to their chests, tiplication—copying one or more the things you can control by bein
<br /> into the bigger picture of the corn- fearing that sharing them will rob existing components and altering more innovative. And stop whin-
<br /> pany's goals and mission.If all em- them of recognition. Unmeasured them in some way; 3) division— ing so you can start winning! ■
<br /> ployees are in touch with the big damage is done in terms of lost op- dividing an existing product into
<br /> picture,they'll be able to come up portunity. its component parts; 4) task unifi- Mark Sheffert (mark.sheffert@
<br /> with better ways of doing what cation—assigning new tasks to manchestercompanies.com) is
<br /> they do,strengthening the innova- 'recently read about some inter- components to unify their func- chairman and CEO of Manchester
<br /> tion process. esting research conducted by tions;and 5) attribute dependency Companies, Inc., of Minneapolis
<br /> CEOs should also promote tak- Ge .ch S. Altshuller (1926-1998), change—creating new dependen- which provides corporate-renewal,
<br /> ing realistic risks and sharing a Russian engineer who formalized cies between a product and its im- investment-banking, and manage
<br /> ideas. History is kind to Wilbur a process for innovation. He ana- mediate environment. ment-advisory services.
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