Innovation

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Innovation Creativity Presentation

• April 5, 2021
• Technology Evaluations Inc.

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Background - Tony Witheridge

• BSc. - University of NSW. (Australia)
• MBA - Technology Management (USA)
• 6 yrs - 3M RD team - Pharmaceuticals
• 7 yrs - RD Manager BHP/Koppers TPD
• 1984 - Founded Aimtech, insecticides marketing
• 1986 - Chem.Eng. Consulting for a Decanter/KHD
  centrifuge company, often working in the USA.
• 1990 - US Resident. Chem.Eng. consulting for the
  environmental and haz-waste and cement
  industries, plus the technical and commercial
  evaluations of 100s of new technologies
• 1997 - Founded TEI
• Five patents filed in last 4 years

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Creativity Innovation

• Innovation is a science not an art
• i.e. There is a methodology technique.
• Creativity is a skillNot everyone can follow a
  method and be equally successful.
• e.g. Given sheet-music we will not all become
  concert-musicians

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Creativity Innovation

• Creativity -- given the right environment and
  staff, creativity can be stimulated by simple
  tools such as cross-functional meetings, matrix
  analysis or check-lists, but it remains a very
  individual endeavor.
• Innovation -- Is considerably more demanding,
  combines more disciplines and requires more
  resources.

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Creativity

• The act of bring together a unique combination of
  attributes, concepts, procedures, knowledge or
  technologies. Generally, with some preconceived
  purpose.
• Drivers personal motivation, a passion
  . or a whimsical pastime ?

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The Creative Mechanism

• Knowledge is imperfectly shared over time and
  across people, organizations and industries.
• Truly creative new products and services are
  possible only if the connection between existing
  solutions and the problems (or needs) can be made
  across the boundaries between traditional
  domains. Yes it is a mouthful, but really think
  about this one !

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Directed Creativity

• Attention must be brought to a problem
• The problem must be understood, as should the
  interacting environment in which the problem/need
  exists
• Creativity needs access to a sufficient array of
  potential solutions/knowledge from different
  domains that are relevant.
• Many individual environmental factors that can be
  combined to provide this knowledge access, but
  the exact form is not as important as its
  substance.

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What is Innovation

• Innovation is change that creates a new
  dimension of performance. (P. Drucker)
• Commercial Innovation is the effective
  leveraging of creative products services to
  impact financial performance. (AJW)

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Innovation Will Not Spontaneously Evolve
Efficiently

• Several elements need to be present
• Ø Motivation -- all the key elements for
  motivational management are equally applicable to
  RD efforts.
• Ø Vision -- allows the innovator to focus their
  attention.
• Ø Staff Selection -- great innovation and great
  creativity both need an intellect capable of
  stepping outside of its own experience base to
  envisage unexplored combinations and permutations
  of ideas, so that suitable technology connections
  can be made.

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Innovation from Creative Ideas

• Commercializing ideas requires the interaction of
  an array of fertile and experienced minds that
  are also suitably motivated. This interaction
  should include
• Ø             Peers
• Ø             Production
• Ø             Marketing
• Ø             Advanced future users of the
  innovation
• Any efforts will be hampered if access to
  sufficient capital resources is not available at
  every step in the process. The timely
  availability of capital within a company and its
  willingness to support the risks associated with
  commercializing new innovations are separate and
  just as important issues.

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1 Message

• To consistently create new processes or products
  you must understand the critical driving forces
  currently limiting or controlling the performance
  and/or perceived value. Ø      If you guess at
  the critical driving forces then you are guessing
  at the best innovation, and todays environment
  is increasingly intolerant to failures resulting
  from guesswork.
• Ø       If you have a better knowledge and
  understanding of the critical driving forces then
  you can out-innovate the competition.

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2 Message

• Very few people are highly creative.
• Very few people have the skills, knowledge and
  commercial exposure to fully exploit and market a
  creative new concept.
• Both capabilities together are exceptionally
  rare.
• As a generally rule It is unwise to allocate
  both responsibilities to one person .

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TEI Advantage

• Consistently demonstrated motivation and the
  capacity to create change using creative
  implementation of technology.
• Key to this capacity are
• Knowledge of why things work
• Exposure to a wide range of industrial
  technologies
• Cross-functional commercial and technical skills
• Ability to see gaps in technology application
  matrix
• Hands-on determination

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Thank You