blaine childress 2012 innovate carolina
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Tilting at Windmills:Beyond Tilting at Windmills:
Breaking the Breaking the ““quick fixquick fix”” cycle through technology discoverycycle through technology discovery
April 20th, 2012
SpeakersSpeakersBlaine Childress
– Sealed Air’s Manager of Open Innovation– 32 years in Technology and Innovation– Focus on technology protection, product innovation, and
technology scouting– Role of project leader and problem owner– [email protected]
Don Ross– Innovare’s Founder and President – 35 years as an innovation practitioner– Focuses on the front end of innovation including discovery, concept
development and validation– Role of team facilitator and process owner – [email protected]
Sealed Air Sealed Air –– Legacy of InnovationLegacy of Innovation
• 56 labs, 500 Scientists, 4600 patents• 17% of Sales from New Products and Services
“We take pride in our history of pioneering new technologies and applications and earning our value with customers through unique
inventive solutions”
Dr. Ann Savoca, Vice President, Technology and Innovation
But we feel the pressure• New Global Competitors• Poor macroeconomics• Rising Raw Materials Cost• Faster Innovation
The New Normal ?The New Normal ?
– Tight budgets– Lowering head counts– Long project lists– Quick to market
development timelines– Risk averse climate– Short Term Spending Focus
Stocks Are UpStocks Are Up……But It DoesnBut It Doesn’’t Feel Like Itt Feel Like It
Demands on R&D Shifting and ConflictingDemands on R&D Shifting and Conflicting
The business is demanding innovation but…
– Greater workload, changing project mix results in less time to think/analyze
– Demands of short term business needs overshadow broader innovation agenda
– Pressure for quick results conflicts with ability to explore new technologies related to customer needs
The Unintended ConsequenceThe Unintended Consequence
• A Quick answers culture is systemic/pandemic - firefighting today’s burning problem
“An engineer or scientist identifies a defect that can be fixed with some change to formulation or process condition, and then moves on to the next urgent
matter. Seldom is real effort applied to finding the root of the problem and a fundamental solution.”
• Avoid pursuing novel, untried solutions outside the box
Result: Limited scope of innovation
Keeping in the Comfort ZoneKeeping in the Comfort Zone
• The comfort zone mentality approaches problems using a current capability mindset
– Appears to be faster, cheaper, and quantifiable, plus easier to get mgt. support
• But, more costly in the long run– Problems return– Current methods/solutions no longer satisfactory – Subject to disruptive change by another– Capacity for Innovation is limited to incremental change
Relying on existing “comfort” models for solutions, leveraging what we already know and can readily apply
Comfort Zone
Challenges that make life
worthwhile and interesting
Our Process ChallengeOur Process Challenge
How to increase technology innovation with less time and money?How to increase technology innovation with less time and money?
Other PeopleOther People’’s Money & Mindss Money & Minds
• Increase innovation capacity while reducing R&D costs and time by reaching out to external expertise and inventions
a Forum for Technology Discoverya Forum for Technology Discovery
• Connect to customer needs• Engage multidisciplinary team• Provide a strong external perspective• Move beyond what is already known• Broaden the opportunity space• Apply Serendipity
SAC adapted Innovare’s Tech Explorer technology discovery approach
Technology and Customer Needs Intersection
Advances in science and technology have a dynamic Advances in science and technology have a dynamic relationship with customer needsrelationship with customer needs
• Tech can be used to create solutions that satisfy existing needs
• Tech can reshape the environment, creating new sets of needs
Advances drive needs the customer doesn’t even know they have
Customer NeedsCustomer Needs TechnologyTechnology
Technology Discovery with ExpertsTechnology Discovery with Experts
Three Phases
Phase 1 Secondary Research - intriguing technologies that might address key customer needs
Phase 2 Discovery with the Experts – exploring the state of the art and future trajectory of selected technologies
Phase 3 Synthesis – creating concepts for applying the technology, prototypes, and a road map for bringing in the technology to drive innovation
Multidisciplinary team process of discovery driven by R&D and supported by marketing
Tech ExplorerTech Explorer
Phase 1 Tech Explorer Phase 1 Tech Explorer –– Secondary ResearchSecondary Research
• Begin with a customer need
• Brainstorm / hypothesize scientific principles that might be applied to deliver product attributes at desired levels
• Generate a list of technologies that relay on the scientific principles
• Select the most intriguing technologies to research
UV Resist20 years Delighter ???Categorized
Requirement levelTechnology
Individual Team Member Assignments Individual Team Member Assignments -- Tech BriefingsTech Briefings
• Each team member takes one or two topics• Explores topics using secondary sources – internet, reports… etc.
• Creates briefings– what is the technology, the IP landscape– how might the technology evolve– how might it be applied to create solutions– who are the experts
Socializing the Tech BriefingsSocializing the Tech Briefings
• Workshop environment - 8 – 10 topics• Team members present their briefings• Team create a synthesis of findings with implications & next steps• Select experts to work with in Phase 2
Phase 2: Discovery with the ExpertsPhase 2: Discovery with the Experts
• Brainstormed implications, applications, and impact on needs
• Created beginning technology application concepts
• Reached out to external experts representing targeted science & technology areas
• Held workshops with experts, exploring the state of the art, clarifying, and anticipating trajectories of their technologies
Phase 3: SynthesisPhase 3: Synthesis
Incubation time involving several rounds of technology application concept refinement
• Research and problem solving to build concept feasibility• Prototype and test solutions• Vet the list of opportunities to a few feasible solutions
Building the case for the technology• Outline the development or acquisition approach, timing,
costs• Define the technology’s impact on the customer &
competitive environment• Show anticipated connections of the technology to future
product lines • Project the impact on the business
Case Ready Example Case Ready Example
• Mature business – ramp up innovation in established business - Modified Atmosphere Packaging for meat
• Problem to Solve/ “Customer Need” - extend shelf life (4 days to over 14 days) by presenting bright red color longer
Case Ready Phase 1 Example Secondary ResearchCase Ready Phase 1 Example Secondary Research
• Team members conducted literature research on selected topics and created tech briefings & identified external experts
• Several hundred patents, journal articles, internet sites
– Topics ranged from oxygen complexing in blood, to contact lens design, to manufacture of complex integrated circuits
Farm Film ExampleFarm Film Example
• Plasticulture refers to using plastic products in agriculture to improve crop quality, yield and conserve water
• Potential new market for Sealed Air
Farm Film Example Phase 2 Discovery with the ExpertsFarm Film Example Phase 2 Discovery with the Experts
• 2-day workshop with university and industry experts, both live and via web link– Extension Agents– Tyvek manufacturing process– Fumigant chemistry– Moisture sensors– Medical Tubing
• Proposed possibilities for use of Sealed Air technical strengths
Phase 3 Outputs Phase 3 Outputs –– Concepts and Road MapsConcepts and Road Maps
• Technology application concepts – Not fully fleshed out solutions but a
representation of what we could do with the technology
• Road maps relate the technologies to future product lines– Shows timing when technologies could be
ready and the enabled new products
Current TechnologyExtrusion Thermal
Distillation
2010Time Line
2008 2009 2011
Product Lines
New Market Product Line and Technology
2007 2012
Advanced New Platform
UVNew T1
Gen 1 Gen 2 Gen 3 Gen 4
Potential Technologies
New T2Advanced Design Green T
New Products Enhanced Design First Generation Enhanced
Second Generation
Phase 3 Output Phase 3 Output -- Technology Vision of the FutureTechnology Vision of the Future
Creative team exercise using future news article format …
“Dateline 2017”
Tape Disr
upts
Market !
!
Foundations of a Successful Tech Discovery ApproachFoundations of a Successful Tech Discovery Approach
• Well connected to customer needs
• Engaged multidisciplinary team
• Strong external perspective
• Broad opportunity space
• Diligent use of synthesis process to identify value paths
• Embrace well considered sciences and pursue opportunities outside the comfort zone
Lessons LearnedLessons Learned-- Make Time For SynthesisMake Time For Synthesis
Wind Energy Example• Only 4 weeks to explore windmill blade
protection strategies• Quick fix mentality truncated the process
– Eliminated incubation and synthesis time– Cultivated closed-minded thinking
Team reverted back to just applying what they already knew with little to show for the effort, and yielding obvious solution approaches
that would not differentiate
In Tough Times WeIn Tough Times We’’re Providing More Bang For The Innovation Buckre Providing More Bang For The Innovation Buck
• We’re shifting from quick fixes to developing deeper understanding • We’re identifying strong solutions, never considered by internal experts
“Our synthesis is more successful when an independent facilitator prods the team to dive deep, explore and consider different
perspectives, achieve a shared understanding of the problems and possible solutions; and then present action plans and reports.”
Thank YouThank You