Finding Innovation in a Complex Global Economy

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines innovation as “the introduction of something new … a new idea, method or device.” For Jeffrey P. Rouleau, though, that definition doesn’t go far enough.

“What is innovation? Normally, we think of innovation as that lightbulb that goes on in our heads when we have a novel idea,” he told contract manufacturers, venture capitalists and orthopedic business owners at the fifth annual Orthopedic Design & Technology Conference and Exhibition in Fort Wayne, Ind. “But it’s more than that. Innovation does not come from inspiration; perspiration has to have a hand in order for innovation to take place. And innovation does not come from technology alone. My preferred definition of innovation is this—it is something new that brings value. It’s not limited to products. It could be a new bearing surface for total hip arthroplasty or a new business model such as Ebay or Google or the supermarket that delivers groceries. Research is about turning money into knowledge. Innovation is turning that knowledge into money.”

Of course, there is no magic formula for turning knowledge into money. But Rouleau, Ph.D., Technical Fellow and Senior Manager of Strategy & Scientific Operations at Medtronic, Inc., gave conference attendees some tips to help foster innovation at their respective companies. His most valuable piece of advice?

“Look beyond your own walls.”

Though it sounds simple enough, many companies fail to take advantage of collaborative partnerships to help them foster innovation, Rouleau said. During the early days of the Industrial Revolution, innovation was rather straightforward: an inventor with a novel idea usually worked alone to perfect his ground-breaking creation before bringing it to market. Such solitary paths to innovation gradually became more crowded when companies such as Bell Laboratories, RCA, General Motors and DuPont housed their scientists, engineers and forward-thinking employees in one building, gave them the necessary funding and resources, and waited for innovation to occur.

That “corporate lab approach” is no longer applicable in today’s market, Rouleau argued. “Medtronic employs 40,000 workers globally. In the United States alone, there are about 2 million scientists. Talent is one key ingredient for innovation, and talent goes where opportunity exists,” he noted. “There is far more talent outside our walls than inside our walls. Shame on us if we don’t look outside our walls [for talent] and shame on you if you don’t do the same.”

As with most anything in the business world, Rouleau urged the audience to follow the money trail. “Talent follows money,” he said. “Where is the talent going? Where are the scientists and engineers innovating today? Not just in the United States, but across the globe. We all should be looking across the globe for talent.”

But don’t overlook the possibilities within your own company, either. Rouleau advised conference attendees to set up internal networking opportunities to allow workers to collaborate on ideas. Medtronic has instituted an “Innovating for Life” campaign that allows employees at the Minneapolis, Minn.-based device firm share their knowledge. The campaign includes a program called the Medtronic Information eXchange, an internal collaborative networking environment for employees to connect with colleagues, share knowledge and work together worldwide. Medtronic employees also can partake in a program (not associated with the company) called InnoCentive@Work, an open innovation tool where employees pose challenges for other employees to tap their knowledge and contribute to solutions.

“It’s a very effective way to get collective input from a large group of people,” Rouleau said. “It’s the collective wisdom of crowds.”

Smaller companies that may not have the resources to establish an official information exchange program can still foster innovation successfully by following a few simple suggestions from Rouleau:

•Focus on the value of innovation rather than the technology. Use more resources
•Reach out across the entire organization for collaborative partnerships
— Participate in projects that cross borders (geographical, functional and divisional)
— Post challenges to colleagues
— Solve other colleagues challenges (both internal and external)
— Use social networking to discover and improve peer-to-peer relationships.

And, most importantly, look beyond your walls.