Innovation and entrepreneurship are critical capabilities for manufacturing success. The best manufacturers are developing these capabilities within their operations and continuously looking for new models to emulate and adopt. One of the best models is neither new nor novel.
Thomas Edison was the prototypical innovator and entrepreneur and he continues to be relevant today. Edison changed America through his inventions and ability to commercialize those creations. In addition to creating the light bulb, Edison perfected the phonograph, and brought motion pictures to life. He then took these inventions and created entire industries around them. Many of the approaches that Edison used a century ago still apply today.
Sarah Miller Caldicott, Edison’s great-grandniece, will explore these topics at the 15th Annual Manufacturing Matters! conference in Milwaukee on May 9.
Caldicott uses her great-granduncle’s principles to illustrate how technological innovations are generated by creative thought applied in unexpected ways. Innovation is not random – it’s the result of a rigorous process fueled by creativity, non-linear thinking, and collaboration. The process that Edison used to develop the inventions that changed the physical and economic structure of the world is the same process that is used today for game-changing technological advances.
Sarah connected with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership earlier this week to share her insights about innovation and Thomas Edison.
WMEP: Why is Thomas Edison still relevant? Haven’t times changed?
Caldicott: Edison created tremendous market value in his lifetime. He pioneered six industries in just over 30 years – all of which remain with us today. The patents and industries he created had an estimated value of billions of dollars. Edison’s skill in finding new markets that deliver value was exceptional. Additionally, Edison created flat organizations, and this set him apart from most of his industrial-age counterparts. Few layers in his companies meant that employees had a chance to be exposed to unique skills and project opportunities.
Today, when leaders are struggling with how to pioneer new industries and drive value, Edison has a great deal to teach us. Edison’s success provides numerous clues as to how to look at 21st century markets, how to discover new market space, and how to slice through the complexity that often accompanies the development of new products and services.
WMEP: How should innovation take place in today’s competitive business world?
Caldicott: Innovation is a broad endeavor consisting of multiple competencies. It isn’t just a singular skill set, but includes numerous factors. Edison brought multiple strengths to the innovation process, including collaboration, which is the ability to get teams of people to work in a very focused and cohesive manner for extended periods of time.
Another component of innovation success is examining how teams view market needs. Being able to understand and interpret trends is hugely important. This “synthesizing of new knowledge” is a very important skill set going forward.
WMEP: How do you create a culture of innovation today?
Caldicott: An important component of creating a culture of innovation is for leadership to embrace innovation. By that I mean embracing innovation as a personal practice and not just as a business practice. Leaders need to think of innovation as a continuum of activity, rather than a linear process. Edison viewed innovation as being everywhere – in every facet of endeavor – so it isn’t just a part of business.
Leaders and employees need to understand how they view the world, how they view themselves as having impact, and how they see their ideas coming together with other ideas to create a product or service. Innovation engages not only the output of your effort, but also that of your team. It also looks at how organizations are led and what vision the organization has for its place as an innovator in the marketplace.
In a manufacturing environment, innovation needs to be understood in a broader context and be non-linear. For example, production workers should go to association meetings, become part of a larger technical group, visit customer locations, and interact with other workers so they can understand what others are doing to drive innovation on the company floor.
Creating a culture of innovation takes time. Larger organizations can do this within a three- to five-year period. Smaller organizations can do it more rapidly, provided the leadership embraces the importance of innovation and is able to inspire the same behavior and attitudes within employees.
WMEP: I believe you have a new book coming out. Can you tell us more about it?
Caldicott: Midnight Lunch: True Collaborations for Innovators from Thomas Edison’s Laboratory explores the methods used to create successful collaborations. Collaboration is the backbone of innovation, and the book details the four different phases key to building collaboration:
- Capacity: Capacity explores the available resources, the size behind a successful team, and ways to construct that team.
- Context: Collaborative teams need to be probing and looking at new areas. Context looks at the thought process a successful team uses to define the problem they are solving.
- Coherence: Coherence examines how teams stay together, can be motivated to make progress, and are encouraged to learn.Â
- Complexity: Complexity explores ways to increase efficiency in large complex projects without affecting results.
Sarah Miller Caldicott will be a guest speaker at WMEP’s Manufacturing Matters! conference at the Frontier Airlines Center in Milwaukee on May 9, 2012. Her new book will be out this fall. For more information about the conference, go to: www.manufacturingmatters.org.
About WMEP
The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership is a private, nonprofit organization representing Wisconsin manufacturers.
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