Innovation: all the secrets of Polichinel
3M Research Company: How to innovate correctlySTRF.ru
Last week, Larry Wendling, Vice President of the 3M Research Laboratory, visited Russia.
As reported in the materials of the company's press service, during his visit, he first discovered the secret of how innovations have been created at his enterprise for the second century.
"3M is a unique company," says Mr. Wendling, "no one else has such a diversified business. And, despite thousands of ongoing research, no company is focused so much on the development and flexible implementation of successful innovations. It is they, new solutions to any problems that customers have, the release of new necessary products that are the driving force of the 3M company."
According to L. Wendling, 7 elements are needed to create an environment that accompanies the birth of innovations. The first of them is the connection of innovation with the company's strategy. In order for a company to be truly innovative, one simple scheme must work in it: new technologies must be combined with the needs of the market and the client, and offer an unusual way to solve the task. For all its apparent simplicity, this basic point cannot be circumvented.
The second element is a strong corporate culture. 3M has two basic rules of corporate culture laid down by its permanent leader William McKnight. He has led the company for more than 30 years and is one of the ten most famous and respected company leaders in the history of the United States. The first of his rules: let people do what is necessary, the way they think is best. And, secondly, there is no need to be afraid of mistakes, employees should be able to take risks. More than 60 years have passed, and 3M remembers and applies these rules.
The third point necessary for the birth of innovation is the availability of access to various technologies. For example, at 3M, these are not only technologies that have been established for decades, such as film, but also completely new: biotechnologies or nanotechnologies. It is worth noting separately that each of the 3M company's technologies is used in a large number of markets, even for the simplest product, several of them are used at once. The key to success is to connect technology with customer needs in a new way, to think outside the box. For example, 3M's micro-replication technology was invented in 1964. Initially, it was used only in the production of lenses in projectors, today it is used in healthcare, in microelectronics and in the production of retroreflective road signs.
The fourth element, according to Vending, is the creation of links between specialists. At 3M, more than 9200 professionals around the world are working on inventions. In this area, people simply need to exchange experience, knowledge, and achievements. For this purpose, in 1951, the leadership of 3M established a special Technical forum, within which technical specialists communicate and exchange ideas and achievements.
Then there are the expectations of employees, which should coincide with the goals of the company itself.
The sixth point is the measurability of the results achieved. This refers primarily to the organic growth that 3M receives from the release of new products. If the majority of large companies focus on mergers or acquisitions in their further development, then 3M mainly relies on the production of new products, whose share in turnover reaches 25-30% annually.
Measurability is determined by several simple and absolutely functional parameters. These are the costs of R&D and their geographical distribution; calculating the speed of bringing a new product to market, constantly monitoring whether it brings the expected revenue? These calculations tell how much is spent on the development of new technologies or the creation of new products. Another important factor is the number of new patents per year.
And finally, the connection with the needs of customers. In 1923, an employee, Richard Drew, came to a large auto repair shop to offer sandpaper. During the negotiations, he found out along the way that there is a big problem with painting cars in the car service. Then he thought about solving this issue and invented a masking tape with an adhesive layer, and offered this new product to the auto repair shop. It was immediately bought, as well as hundreds of other similar workshops. Richard Drew thus defined the process of creating innovations. He combined the material and technology already at his disposal, creating a completely new product, and at the same time, a new industry. Today, the turnover of the adhesive tape industry is 35 billion US dollars.
Innovation is not an accident. They are created thanks to a system of principles that develops a combination of technology and creativity to meet customer needs, concluded Larry Wendling
Today, 3M company develops alternative energy (solar, wind), develops a water filtration system at home, detection and protection systems against microbes. Along with this, solutions are being developed in the field of protection against counterfeiting of various products and documentation. The company is also actively investing in nanotechnology. One of the latest applications has been found in the energy field: with the use of nanotechnology, a high-voltage composite aluminum wire has been created, which conducts 2-3 times more power than conventional. Also relevant are the issues of environmental friendliness, recycling of materials, their processing. Great opportunities lie in the creation of flexible materials that replace glass.
3M Company is a diversified diversified international manufacturing corporation that produces unique innovative products for a variety of markets. The main advantage of 3M is that more than 40 technological platforms and their combinations are used to meet various customer requests. The annual turnover of the company is $ 25 billion, the number of employees is more than 79 thousand people. The company has its representative offices in more than 60 countries.
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06.06.2009