Innovation has transformed the world from the dark ages to today. The story of Thomas Edison shows how innovation can create immense value and success. Edison invented the phonograph and lightbulb after thousands of failed experiments. Successful companies continuously innovate in products, services, marketing and other areas. For example, Salesforce innovated the software-as-a-service model and Apple transformed the music industry with the iPod. Dell innovated supply chain management to build custom computers. Innovation requires questioning assumptions, observing customers, networking, experimenting and making connections. Companies can develop an innovation culture by encouraging these skills and sharing knowledge across the organization.

1. Innovation and how it applies to each one of us
By Jagannath Rao
Innovation is what has taken man from the dark ages to the world in which we live today, where we can interact
with people where ever they are on earth or even in space! In today's competitive world it is essential to innovate
in every sphere of activity whether it is delivering a service, building a product or finding new ways to manage
our operations and creating growth.
The Story of Edison:
Before we look at how to innovate, just hearing the story of Thomas Alva Edison is awe inspiring. Popularly known
as Al, he was a school dropout who had great interest in Science and in what happened in the world outside. He
was also very enterprising and started selling books on a train (reading them first!) and using the profits to start
a newspaper company of his own at the age of 16. While on the train, he also created a lab (with a printing press
on the train) until it exploded one day and he was expelled!
Telegraphy invented and patented by Morse was the main communication medium in those days and used mainly
by newspaper companies. Edison travelled 4 years all over the US to understand this technology. In 1874, he
invented the Quadriplexer that increased the capacity of the system by 4 times. He approached Western Union,
but rather than sell based on cost based (estimated at $2000), the great entrepreneur that he was, he asked them
how much they would pay (based on market impact)! And he received an unbelievable amount of $40,000! He
used this money to setup an invention factory. He worked for ever in the lab and used say ""I owe my success to
the fact that I never had a clock in my workroom".
In 1876 Bell patented the Telephone. Edison invented the transmitter that vastly improved the telephone system
and sold this again to Western Union. He also went on to invent the phonograph which played the 1st voice
recording "Mary had a little lamb" and later invented the motion picture.
Contrary to popular belief the electric bulb was not an entirely new invention since the electric arc lamp already
existed lighting the streets of America. It was innovated further by Edison for use indoors and during this struggle
of several years, a News reporter once asked him if he had given up. Edison quipped "I have found 9000 ways in
which it does not work" and went on to invent the electric lamp on his 10,000th attempt!
Converting Failure to Success:
Let us look also at a little parable of the "Post-it", the sticky notes that 3M launched in 1980. This product was
the result of a failed research experiment that Dr. Spencer carried out in 1968 when he created an adhesive that
did not stick well! A decade later another researcher who was frustrated with bookmarks constantly falling off his
church choir hymnal used this as glue for his bookmarks. Innovating around this resulted in 200 different types
of post-it products that 3M sells to the world! Failure if properly analyzed and managed could become the
gateway to innovation!

2. Let us now take a look at some recent industry innovations that have left the world speechless with focus in a few
specific functional areas:-
Product & Service:
Sales Force.com (observe the name of the company itself) touts its "No Software" mascot after launching a SAAS
based product and service that today serves more than 90,000 enterprises! The key shift in thinking here is going
away from the notion of software or application and innovating around the service model
Marketing:
Apple created history by creating the ipod (wonder how many people remember Sony's Walkman today?). Apple
succeeded in taking a technology that existed for many years and marketing a solution that fitted every age
group and creating a "Wow" experience. Recognizing that Music is a universal language, Apple seized the
opportunity to put this technology in the hands of people and creating a need eternal supply of music using the
Appstore and creating a continuous revenue stream that only grows with time.
Supply Chain:
The meteoric rise of Dell Computers to a $B company in the 90's was largely due to innovations in supply chain
and manufacturing and implementation of a novel distribution strategy. This innovative approach combined
operational and process innovation with a revolutionary distribution that generated tremendous cost-savings
and unprecedented customer value in the PC market.
Dell used an online sales model to carefully analyze markets trends and build custom built computers cutting out
distributors and passing on cost benefits to the customers. With more accurate market forecasts, Dell then
innovated around a vertical integration strategy that built a closely coupled vendor ecosystem tightly integrated
with the assembly line that was organized in terms of cells.
So what does this tell us?
All great companies have an innovation story to tell. And those that stop innovating have faded away into oblivion
and this list is definitely longer!
While the above examples highlight innovation in a particular aspect of the business (Product, Service, marketing
etc.), in order to remain successful all round innovation is required in every aspect of the business.
For example Apple might have come out with the most innovative goto market model but it has also had the
need to innovate on user experience, technology and quality and cost (yes cost is important for Apple
too!). Innovation is therefore a fundamental culture in such companies.
And what is required in order to create such a culture in a company? First and foremost is the desire to create
something new and compelling that provides excitement. The biggest enemy of innovation is the comfort level
associated with the stable present shackled to established norms.
When such a burning desire is explored fearlessly, sometimes bordering on adventure, and coupled with the
ability to experiment sometimes satisfying inane curiosity new ideas typically emerge.

3. Inventing and Innovation is not always something entirely new. It is usually taking something that exists and
applying a lot of knowledge and hard work to accomplish something even better. And it requires a lot knowledge
and hard work and perseverance to achieve!
The story of Edison is more than a century old. The stories of Sales force, Apple, Dell, 3M are all more than a
decade old. In order to be successful in the industry today, knowledge of the market place in each functional area
whether Technology, Products, IT, HR, Finance, Sales or Marketing is key. To sustain success, it is necessary to
continuously innovate in each one of these functional areas bettering competition.
A lot of study has been done on how an innovation DNA can be built in companies. The ability to innovate is not
merely a function of the mind but also a function of behaviors. Changing behaviors in an organization can
therefore lead to better innovation. The Innovator's DNA is one such collaborative study. This study identifies 5
discovery skills that distinguish Innovative organizations:
• Questioning—posing queries that challenge common wisdom fearlessly
• Observing—scrutinizing the behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors to identify new ways of doing
thing and adding to the knowledge base
• Networking—meeting people with different ideas and perspectives for creative tension
• Experimenting—constructing interactive experiences and provoking unorthodox responses to see what
insights emerge
• Associating—drawing connections between questions, problems, or ideas from unrelated fields driving
towards an objective solution
To structure processes and institutionalize this, companies like 3M also use techniques such as Digital Six Sigma,
3M Acceleration, eProductivity, Sourcing Effectiveness and Indirect cost control to drive innovation in different
functional areas. They also have a KM and Innovation program office that drives the innovation culture across the
company. The central theme of the innovation program in 3M is sharing. And sharing becomes the pillar of 3M's
innovation platform resulting in several pillars:
• Share World Class Technology
• Share Customers, Channels and Brands
• Share Manufacturing and Delivery
• Share Global Infrastructure
• Share Cultural Innovation Values, Practices, Processes and Toolkits
Some of the best practices are
• Use of stories for rapid cultural diffusion and celebrate heroes who passionately pursue new ideas or find new
contexts and share their knowledge creating a social energy

4. • Permitting for creative jazz time (% of time given to staff who innovate) and encourage ideation and its
translation
• Foster formal and informal collaboration and use technology to share knowledge and community practice
Summing it up:
The 1st hurdle to Innovation is crossed when we shift away from asking - Are we doing things the right way? To
asking – Are we doing the right thing? Or move away from asking "Is this the correct answer?" to asking "Is this
the right question?"
The 2nd hurdle is the most difficult one. It is compounded by its fragility in a definitive world. Although there is
no magic potion for this, one can attempt to create a menu to pick from and chart a course of action.
Once we have identified "what is the right thing to do" (or ask the right question), the 2nd hurdle is to find
different ways to look at the problem without worrying about the solution as yet. While doing this, we need to
utilize the existing knowledge base and expanding this, as we research the problem domain.
Doing this in an organization requires all people to be involved to form linkages across knowledge domains in a
fearless and calm manner and handle the creative tension resulting in new paradigms and from which a solution
ultimately emerges. More than conventional and analytical data oriented thinking, this usually requires intuitive
thinking. It also requires an environment that manages a healthy blend of differential mindsets (that permits
differences and allows uncertain solutions to emerge) and integrated solution (that assimilates and drives towards
a solution) thus balancing creativity with accountability.