Innovation – A Destination and a Journey Valeria Mihalache, Xilinx Voices 2015 - www.globaltechwomen.com Mon March 9 9:00 PST Mon March 9 12:00 EST Mon March 9 16:00 UTC Tue March 10 21:30 IST Tue March 10 3:00 Sydney Session Length: 1 Hour We live in a time when change happens at lightning speed, all around us. The only way for companies to be competitive is to innovate, not only with respect to their product offering, but also with respect to their marketing and to their work processes. Moreover, all organizations need innovation in order to stay ahead in the game. Non-profit organizations need to bring innovation in their processes to attract more donors; schools need to innovate with respect to the teaching methods, as well as with respect to the programs they offer, for instance to take advantage of the latest technologies available, or to engage the students more in the learning process. In this presentation we will focus on innovation and on its two good companions, creativity and invention. We will talk about the differences between the three, while also showing the intrinsic connection between them. Giving real-life examples, we will talk about different types on innovation. We recognize that innovativeness is an elusive trait, that one cannot predict how innovative somebody will be in his or her position. Nevertheless, there are certain things that organizations can do to allow for and to stimulate the innovativeness of their employees/members. We will talk about processes that organizations can use in order to inspire and foster innovation.

1. March 2015
Innovation – A Destination and a Journey
Valeria Mihalache
© Copyright 2015 Xilinx

2. Innovation Through the Ages
Innovation is Necessary
Creativity, Invention, Innovation
Fostering Innovation
Delivering Innovation
Page 2
Overview

3. It all started because humans wanted to survive
Survival nowadays: not only as individual, but also as
organization / corporation
More than 300,000 issued by USPTO in 2014
We have been designed to innovate. It’s in our DNA
Page 3
Innovation Through the Ages

4. Today more than ever
Society has higher expectations nowadays
– Globalization is forcing invention at an unprecedented rate
– Modernization & access to technology and to higher living standards are
fueling more demand from customers
– Competition is a steadfast driver for innovation
Necessity is the mother of invention
Innovation has never been a luxury
Page 4
Innovation is Necessary

5. Companies must invent to thrive
Companies must frame and reframe their business purpose, the
value they add to customers
Page 5
Without Innovation

6. Innovation is Fun
Page 6
Examples: Chindogu

7. Marketing Myopia, Ted Levitt, 1960
– Pointed out that companies had focused too much on making products &
too little on customer satisfaction
– “The reason [the railroads] defined their industry wrong was because they
were railroad-oriented instead of transportation-oriented; they were
product-oriented instead of customer-oriented”
– Companies should look towards the market & redefine themselves & their
products accordingly, rather than looking inwards, at their potential
“WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU REALLY IN?”
Page 7
Innovation for the Customer

8. “If I had asked people what they wanted,
they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford
Page 8
Visionary Innovation

9. Creativity: the ability to make new things or think of new ideas
– Artists, chefs, improvisers, engineers
– Not constrained by reality
Invention: a product of the imagination
– Requires creativity, but it’s constrained by reality
– Patentable
Innovation: a new idea, device, or method
– Every invention is an innovation
– Implementation of an invention, or new process, method, business model
“We are all inventors of our own futures. And creativity is the heart of
invention.” -- Tina Seeling: inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity
Page 9
Creativity, Invention, Innovation

10. Process innovation
Product innovation
Page 10
Innovation Classification

11. Page 11
Innovation Classification
DISRUPTIVE
BREAKTHROUGH
INCREMENTAL
Internet
Transistor
FPGA

12. OPEN
PROPRIETARY
Page 12
Innovation Classification

13. An organization can’t just expect innovation. It has to allow for it.
It has to sponsor it.
Innovation is not just a destination. It’s a journey that employees
and companies have to make together.
Page 13
Fostering Innovation

14. Innovation Infrastructure
– Innovation Centers, Research Labs
– Innovation Catalysis Mentors
– Innovation sounding boards; ex. What If Board
– Startup-like groups, even in large company/organization
– Request new ideas as part of the review process
Time
– Unstructured Time
– Sponsor brainstorming
Award Innovation: Bonus, Award Dinner, Offsite, Time Off
Provide opportunities for learning, networking, getting inspired
Page 14
Fostering Innovation: Examples

15. “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I’m possible.” –
Audrey Hepburn
Innovation is a mindset
Be courageous
Make innovation your priority
Innovate with respect to the problem / scope
– Identify problems you want to solve. Identify the why’s and what if’s
– Brainstorm the problem relentlessly
– What’s stopping you from solving the problem? What do you need?
Page 15
Delivering Innovation

16. Know your customer!
Apply problem solving techniques
– Divide and Conquer
– Abstraction
– Analogies and symmetries
Improvise
– If you can’t solve the problem, change it
– Use approximations, probabilities, heuristics
– Brainstorming
Persevere
– When hitting a closed door, find a window
Page 16
Delivering Innovation

17. Innovation Through the Ages
Innovation is Necessary
Creativity, Invention, Innovation
Fostering Innovation
Delivering Innovation
Page 17
Summary

18. May 5, 1809: Mary Kies becomes the first woman to receive a U.S.
patent for her method of weaving straw with silk
1845: Sarah Mather patented a submarine telescope and lamp
that allowed submarines to survey the depths of the ocean
1984, patent no. 4,428,085 granted to France Gabe for self-
cleaning house
Marie Curie, 2 Nobel awards,
refused to file any patents
Page 18
Patents by Women
1760:
Declaration of
Independence
1780: First
U.S. President
1788: U.S.
Constitution
Ratified
1790: The
Patent Act

19. Page 19
Q & A
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir