Let the innovators innovate

Jeff DeWitt

How rethinking the engineering support model can revolutionize your product platform

Companies fail to innovate because it requires individuals to think differently, and often in ways that are counter to organizational culture and norms. Innovation implies difference, and difference is scary.

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Are organizations willing to stick their necks out? Usually, no.

For leaders of global organizations, the writing is on the boardroom wall: companies in the post-2008 economy must re-engineer their workforce models to become the innovative organizations of the future.

Organizational leadership and culture must reflect this focus if they wish to attract and retain a

new (and soon to be dominant) generation of workers and to remain relevant in an increasingly

aggressive and competitive global market. Innovation is the top priority of CEOs worldwide,

because innovation means survival.

In this paper, we seek to identify the ways in which leaders of engineering firms can rethink their

workforce models in order to achieve sustainable product innovation, to drive aggressive top-line

growth and increase the bottom line.

IntroductIon /03

Bigger. Better. Faster.

the pursuit of sustainable product innovation

Stronger.

/04

01

Innovation has long fuelled the engines of productivity and growth for nations and for businesses.

Since the Industrial Revolution, machines, systems and infrastructure have helped to

define civilization, enabling its advancement and prosperity. Each step forward has

reinforced the population’s expectation that engineers will, in perpetuity, be able to

invent products and processes that preserve our quality of life and, more recently,

harness and sustain the resources required to power them.

It follows then that, in the post-2008 business world, innovation – the ‘successful

commercialization of invention’1 – is no longer a mere driver of corporate performance or

a competitive advantage. Now, innovation is critical to an organization’s survival.

Changing technology, consumer demand, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them product cycles,

shifting markets and the ramping up of global competition, along with the lasting

reverberations of the Great Recession, undermine the sustainability of any organization

aiming to achieve growth via cost cutting, re-engineering or expansion into

emerging markets.

BIgger. Better. Faster. stronger. /05

1 http://www.workforce.com/articles/the-new-recipe-for-workforce-innovation

Post-recession businesses must embrace innovation to survive. They need to become

proficient in the ongoing development of multiple innovations, and have the operational

capacity to do so.2 This is sustainable product innovation and it is the lifeblood of the

innovative organizations of the new economy.

BIgger. Better. Faster. stronger. /06

1. Electrification

2. Automobile

3. Airplane

4. Water supply and

distribution

5. Electronics

6. Radio and television

7. Agricultural

mechanization

8. Computers

9. Telephone

10. Air conditioning/

refrigeration

11. Interstate highways

12. Space flight

13. Internet

14. Imaging

15. Household appliances

16. Health technologies

17. Petrochemical technology

18. Laser and fiber optics

19. Nuclear technologies

20. High-performance

materials

1. Energy conservation

2. Resource protection

3. Food/water production

and distribution

4. Waste management

5. Education and learning

6. Medicine and

prolonging life

7. Security and

counter-terrorism

8. New technology

9. Genetics and cloning

10. Global communication

11. Traffic and population

logistics

12. Knowledge sharing

13. Integrated electronic

environment

14. Globalization

15. AI, interfaces and robotics

16. Weather prediction

and control

17. Sustainable development

18. Entertainment

19. Space exploration

20. ‘Virtualization’ and VR

21. Preservation of history

22. Preservation of species3

20th Century InnovatIons 21st Century InnovatIons

2 http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/2368301.pdf3 http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/7126/8275.aspx

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02organizational barriers to

Issues endemic to corporations frustrate innovation progress

innovation

If ‘innovation is the single most important ingredient in the modern economy’ (as The Economist put it), then engineers could be considered the chefs de cuisine.

And yet, those companies in the business of innovation – engineering and technology

firms – must contend with the same organizational barriers that frustrate progress in

non-STEM businesses:4

• Risk-aversiononthepartofmanagementandinvestors

• Low-trustorganizationalculturesthatrejectcollaborationandcreativity

• Unilateralcommunication

• Poorimplementation

• Lackofmeasurement(suchastimetomarket,marketshareandnumbersofattempts).

In many companies, the economic downturn has all but snuffed out management’s

encouragement of, and funding for, innovation. Widespread downsizing has increased

individual workloads, to the detriment of time spent coming up with new ideas and

innovative initiatives. And as a long-term pursuit that does not attract revenue, the

default position on innovation seems to be that it is a ‘nice to have’, not a critical driver

of growth and results.

organIzatIonal BarrIers to InnovatIon /08

4 Content brief interview transcript

Over

40% of respondents in a recent survey by Workforce said their organizations are ineffective at fosting innovation

This is despite the proliferation of CEOs and leaders worldwide touting innovation

as their firm’s top business priority, and creativity as the number one ‘leadership

competency’5 in today’s business climate. It is also in spite of the proof that companies

that innovate produce better results than those who don’t.6

organIzatIonal BarrIers to InnovatIon /09

• Afteracultureofinnovation

was instilled at Proctor &

Gamble, the company’s

value increased by more

than $100 billion and grew

its consumer brand portfolio

from 10-billion dollar entities

to 22.7

• In1974,3MscientistArtFry

came up with the Post-It Note

during his ‘15 per cent time’,

a program at 3M that allows

employees to use a portion of

their paid time to hatch their

own ideas.

• TheCampbell’sSoup

innovation of ready-to-eat

microwaveable soup opened

up a $500 million market,

by creating a product that

was relevant to a whole new

generation of consumers.8

InnovatIng the top lIne [or InnovatIon pays the bIlls]

5 http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2013/07/08/innovate-or-perish-its-the-new-business-reality-is-your-company-ready/6http://akgul.bilkent.edu.tr/inovasyon/EIU%20Cisco%20Innovation%206v%20070511.pdf7 http://www.businessinsider.com.au/difference-between-creativity-and-innovation-2013-48 http://www.workforce.com/articles/the-new-recipe-for-workforce-innovation

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engineers shape

the world03

Without innovative engineering, society will ultimately fail to thrive

Businesses across the spectrum need innovation to survive.

The weightier prospect, however, is that society relies on engineering innovation through

continual design, upgrade and maintenance of systems, components and processes that

address society’s needs.

Yet between the corporate world’s seemingly endemic lack of organizational capacity

to support innovation, and inherent flaws in many companies’ innovation processes,

even the most talented engineer’s ability to achieve sustainable product innovation

is challenged.

In many engineering and tech organizations – including, according to a former

employee, legendary bastion of innovation Google9 – once a product is green-lit,

engineers must continue to manage approvals as well as remain responsible for its

maintenance.

engIneers shape the World /11

9 http://www.fastcompany.com/3015877/fast-feed/why-google-axed-its-20-policy

Source:FollowingHAUSCHILDT(1997),pp.19ff

Invention Market Launch ExploitationIdea Discovery Research Development

Innovation Process

The stage in the development cycle where a product is deemed to be marketable is

the ideal point for the innovator to turn his/her attention to a new opportunity. For

an engineer to stay involved beyond that point could stall the company’s innovation

pipeline … and with it, its potential for growth and increased market share.

Doesyourorganization’sinnovationprocessallowyourengineerstofocusonwhat

theydobestandhelpthempursuenewideasattherighttime?Doesyourcompany’s

organizational structure support or stall innovation?

/12engIneers shape the World

/13

the path to

success04

Innovation is the top priority of ceos worldwide – but it must be more than lip service

Procter & Gamble has the Clay Street Project. 3M’s 15 percent program spawned the Post-It Note.

These are but two examples of formal innovation programs offered by corporate giants

that rely upon innovation for massive growth.

But for all the brilliant, disruptive innovations that these programs inspire, a business

leader’s genuine and visible commitment to innovation across the organization can seed

the culture of trust, creativity, collaboration and courage required to fill the product

pipeline for the long term.

According to www.InnovationManagement.se, an organization’s code for innovation is

embedded in its ‘3 Ps’: its people, processes and philosophies.10 Leaders of successful

companies encourage risk-taking as a learning exercise and embrace persistence. And

theyinstil–asanorganizationalmission–theideathatinnovationiseveryone’sjob,not

justthoseinresearchanddevelopment.

the path to success /14

10 http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2012/11/07/rd-spending-returns-to-pre-recession-levels-finds-booz-company-global-innovation-1000-study/

Yet even with the 3 Ps in check, and a balanced attitude to risk, persisting with an

organizational structure that does not support a business’s innovation strategy will not

see your business gaining ground in the fight against the globalized commoditization of

products and services.

Align your workforce model with your strategy for innovation, however, and your

engineers will be free to move your organization into the big league.

/15the path to success

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learning

to fly05

Failures are the building blocks of innovation

Counterintuitive though it may seem, embracing failure as a learning experience is critical to successful innovation.

Innovativecompaniestakeactioninthefaceoftheunknown,evaluateresults,adjust

their methods and try again, accepting failure as part of the innovation process. These

businesses encourage innovators to be open about learning curves, and to use failures as

springboards to success.

Failing brilliantly

• In the early 1990s, W. Leigh Thompson, chief scientific officer of pharmaceutical

company Eli Lilly initiated ‘failure parties’ to commemorate excellent scientific work

that nevertheless resulted in failure.

• At Facebook HQ there are signs around the office with snippets of inspiration such as

‘Doneisbetterthanperfect’and‘Whatwouldyoudoifyouweren’tafraid?’11

• When 3M engineers discovered that there was simply no market for the heat-

repelling cover to protect car finishes from welding sparks that they’d designed, they

celebrated having found something that was innovative and had its place.12

learnIng to Fly /17

Up to

90% of all innovations fail.

11 http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/08/07/fear-of-failure-is-the-big-problem-not-failure-itself/12 http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663137/how-3m-gave-everyone-days-off-and-created-an-innovation-dynamo

However, failures that result due to a company’s persistent refusal to innovate, or

its reticence to adapt to changing business conditions, as has been the case for

Eastman Kodak, are a different story. Kodak repeatedly missed the opportunity to

prepare for the disruption that digital photography – a technology it actually invented –

would inevitably unleash on its film-and-paper photography model. The one-time global

successstorywasreducedtobankruptcyandtheobjectofaclassactionoverpoor

quality printer product.13

/18learnIng to Fly

13 http://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2012/01/18/how-kodak-failed/3/

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From increments to disruption, and everything

in between06

re-thinking the engineering support model

During tough economic conditions it is often the innovators and future-oriented roles that are dispensed with first.

Engineering has been seen as a skill-set that is ‘safe’ from downsizing, but the global

uncertainty of recent times has proved otherwise. This has had three specific impacts on

the role of engineers:

1. It has forced the remaining engineers inside organizations to wear multiple ‘hats’.

Often, highly skilled and experienced engineers are asked to complete a varied mix

of high- and low-value tasks across a broad spectrum of work.

2. It has delivered many specialist engineers into the contingent market where their

skillscanbeaccessedonajust-in-timebasis.

3. It has reduced the time engineers have to focus on innovation, research and testing,

and it has encouraged a more output-driven approach to engineering skill.

Too often, engineers that were previously tasked with experimenting, innovating, and

developing new products have been asked to refocus on repackaging existing designs

and delivering incremental rather than ‘step’ change. The risk with this approach is clearly

competitive. Leapfrogging a competitor focusing on incremental change is far easier

than those investing in those large, resource-intensive step changes.

From Increments to dIsruptIon, and everythIng In BetWeen /20

So, now that companies are beginning to re-invest in innovation in the engineering

sector, the impact of previous downsizing needs to be specifically addressed. A key issue

will be ensuring that senior and highly skilled engineers are placed back into the right

leadership roles (and are given a mandate to match) so that they can focus on spurring

innovation across all levels of their organizations.

While it is true that innovation within the product cycle can often be driven by

competitive forces outside an organization, we must not ignore the internal drivers too.

Booz & Company’s 2012 Global Innovation Study suggests that forces inside companies

arejustascriticaltoturningthetideoninnovation.Infact,theysaythat‘thebigleapsin

science and technology … come from curious scientists and technologists working in a

creative atmosphere with a rich exchange of ideas’.14 How organizations create this kind

of environment, and how much support they provide it, will determine the value they

obtain from their investment in engineering skill-sets.

Providing your top engineers with the optimal environment for creativity means freeing

them up to focus on what they do best – innovating. This will necessitate a rethink of

your business’s workforce, including the support services they have around them to

achieve what they are tasked with.

/21From Increments to dIsruptIon, and everythIng In BetWeen

14 http://www.innovationmanagement.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/BoozCo_The-2012-Global-Innovation-1000-Study.pdf

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Companies need to reward and recognize innovative thoughts and also accept and even embrace failures.

Tactical tasks always consume strategic time and that’s why the two must be separated.

Over many decades we have developed proven workforce management solutions

that deliver predictable results and minimize the unknown. Providing your engineering

workforces with reliable, high-quality support services means that you and your top

engineering talent can get on with what they do best: changing the world.

We are in the unique position of being able to provide organizations with access to

highly skilled, specialized talent that can provide expert support in the form of:

• CADsupport

• documentcontrol

• productvalidationandtesting

• reliabilitytesting

• sustainingengineering

• softwareengineering

• engineeringlabmanagementandsupport

• engineeringdocumentmanagement

• billofmaterialconstructionandmaintenance

• engineeringchangenoticecontrol.

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How can we help?Partner with Kelly today for a managed solution designed specifically for your engineering business.

eXit

About the Author

JeFF deWItt is the senior director of engineering solutions for global managed solutions at

Kellyocg. Jeff joined Kellyocg in 2009 and is responsible for the architecture of engineering

outsourced solutions. Jeff holds a bachelor¹s degree in electrical engineering from pennsylvania

state university and a master¹s degree in systems engineering from the university of virginia.

he has over 25 years of experience in product engineering, manufacturing automation

engineering, production operations, and quality management.

About KellyoCG

KellyOCG® is the Outsourcing and Consulting Group of workforce solutions provider Kelly Services, Inc. KellyOCG is a

global leader in innovative talent management solutions in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Business

Process Outsourcing (BPO), Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO), including Independent Contractor Solutions,

Human Resources Consulting, Career Transition and Executive Coaching, and Executive Search.

KellyOCG was named in the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® 2013 Global

Outsourcing 100® list, an annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and advisors.

KellyConnect is a pioneer in the set-up and maintenance of virtual workplaces. We have access to local talent via

440 Kelly-owned branches across the US. We combine this with the intellectual property of understanding how to

deliver plug-and-play technology solutions (if you don’t have your own).

Further information about KellyOCG may be found at kellyocg.com.

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