Innovation & Knowledge

Management

Dr. Siddhan
Clariant - Colour-Chem Ltd.
Thane
Why this topic when we talk of
Challenges to Indian MNCs ?

If we don’t manage creativity and

innovation in the areas of
Intellectual property, technology
& distribution, India will be
challenged in the market place
A great wind is blowing and
that gives you either
imagination or a headache.
Catherine II (the Great)
Empress of Russia
Knowledge Management
definitions
 A multi-disciplined approach to achieving
organisational objectives by making the best use of
knowledge

 The systematic processes by which knowledge needed

for an organisation to succeed is created, captured,
shared and leveraged

 The art of creating commercial value from intangible

assets
Innovation

 I am convinced that if the rate of change inside the

institution is less that the rate of change outside,
the end is in sight. The only question is timing of
the end.
Jack Welch, GE.
What is Innovation?

 Innovation means renewal or alter

 Prerequisite for innovation is the

dissatisfaction with the current status and an
inquisitive mind
Defining Innovation, Creativity &
Intelligence

 Innovation is using an existing idea for a

laterally different purpose or application

 Creativity is doing things that has not been

done before

 Intelligence is the ability to learn and think

Demonstrated creativity examples
 George de Mestral's observation of how
cockleburs attach to clothing
leading to
invent the hook-and-loop fastener known as
Velcro®

 Art Fry's development of Post-It® removable

notes at 3M Corporation in 1974 Dr. Spencer
Silver, another 3M scientist, had developed a
polymer adhesive that formed microscopic spheres
instead of a uniform coating, and thus was a poor
adhesive that took years to set
Managing Creativity
 "If you do not know where you are
going, you will not know when you
arrive." – conventional view

 "If I knew what I was doing, it would

not be research." – unorthodox view
Managing Creativity
 Instead of asking for one solution, require the A
students to give two different methods of solving one
problem. Encourage students to find creative solutions
instead of prosaic solutions.
 Give problems that are unreasonably difficult to
answer correctly, and have the students find a rough
approximation.
 Give students problems without adequate information;
let them go to the library and find the information that
they need.
 Give more problems that ask the student to design a
circuit, interpret data, design a method of doing an
experiment, ...
Managing Creativity
 Assign term papers that require reading from multiple
sources, making a creative synthesis of the
information, and finding contradictions or
inconsistencies in authoritative, published works.
 Occasionally assign exercises that show an incorrect
solution to a problem (e.g., computer program that
contains at least one bug, electronic circuit that will
not function properly) and have the students find the
defect and suggest a correction.
 Assign laboratory experiments that allow students
freedom to choose techniques) and topics.
 Arrange or compose music, not merely playing music.
Intelligence
 Synthetic intelligence. The ability to
combine existing information in a new
way.

 Analytic intelligence. The ability to

distinguish between new ideas that
have potential, and new ideas that are
not worth further work. This ability is
essential to an effective allocation of
resources, by evaluating the quality of
new ideas.
What are innovation drivers?
Market Pull

Inno
vations

Technology Society
Push demand

Main focus: Innovations Main focus: Innovation trends

based on own technologies backed by governmental funds
and on market knowledge and regulations
What innovation model to be used?
Innovation & R&D Knowledge
R&D Strategy Management

– Innovation and R&D strategy – Technology teams

– Strategic areas and technologies – Cooperations (Universities, Institutes)
– Innovation pipeline – Innovation Forum
– New technologies – People exchange
– IT Systems R&D

New Business Intellectual

Development Property

– New business opportunities – IP Strategy

– Multidisciplinary R&D projects – IP Tactics
– Start up projects
Thinking provides
knowledge, Knowledge
makes you great.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Honorable President of India
from annual address at Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat
What is Knowledge?

 Explicit – can be codified: books, reports,

journals, memos, documents
 Tacit – “know-how” typically unwritten
– Experiences and expertise gained over time
– Insights and observations resulting from
discussion and collaboration
– Often most valuable because difficult for
competition to replicate
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Knowledge develops like a pyramid:

Wisdom Strategy, heurisitics

Knowledge Concepts, algorithm

Information Organized facts, simple rules

Data Raw & isolated facts

Knowledge is more than
knowing
Overload = Noise:

Business workers are flooded with data and

drowning in information
Volume of technical literature is overwhelming
To read one year of chemistry publication will
take 700 yrs.
Biomedical literature will take 2200 yrs.
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Where is the wisdom we have lost in
knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in

information?

Where is the information lost in data?

TS Eliot in his poem “The Rock”

Knowledge is more than
knowing
Overloaded knowledge workers suffer:

Half of managers can’t cope with data they

receive
Two thirds said they needed high levels of
information but believed info was underutilized
Ca. 50% felt that acquiring information detracted
from their main job responsibilities
Information overload lessened job satisfaction
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Explicit and tacit knowledge:

Physics student can write equation of a ball

propelled in space and its trajectory - this is
explicit knowledge

Basket ball player knows how to propel

into the hoop - this is tacit knowledge -
experience, skill & muscle memory
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Effective knowledge management:

Deals with both explicit and tacit

knowledge
While explicit knowledge is copied, tacit
knowledge is not

Prefer tacit knowledge based projects for

sustained success
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Who do you hire?

Worker who knows how to operate a machine but

does pick up new skills?

One who knows how to learn independently but

not familiar with the machine?

Your brand of machine will change !!!

Skills are easier to acquire than attitude !!!
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Another way to look at KM

How group of people make themselves

collectively smarter

While training educates individuals, KM

educates the entire organization
Knowledge is more than
knowing
Early knowledge management system

Beehive - every spring day, hundreds of

bees sortie forth in quest of honey. One of
the emissaries locates a promising patc, he
flies back and does a jig – unique 8 figure
dance. This angle of figure 8 tells rest where
the patch of flowers are
The Role of Knowledge

The creation, diffusion and use of

knowledge have become the vital
ingredient in economic growth and
change. The innovation-driven
economy builds upon these
processes. (OECD, 2002)
knowledge management mythology

1. Connectivity is the issue - sharing of info &

knowledge will follow
2. It’s a “solution” - must be good for our problems
3. Ubiquity, access, any time, any place is always
needed
4. It’s available, I need it
5. We can talk KM with no reference to
organizational issues
knowledge management mythology

6. If we ask people what they want, they will tell us and

we will know what to do
7. KM is corporate information services + an expensive
portal + a new VP or CKO
8. We can talk and understand & fully realise KM with
no reference to traditional knowledge disciplines
9. KM is now an old, mature concept; there are
sophisticated packages available
10. Amazon.com is a bookseller
Organizational conditions for KM

 Trust
 Confidence
 Credibility
 Direct connection knowledge
acquisition/sharing - reward
 professionals = ambassadors or bosses
 Systems support
Why manage knowledge
 Enables effective and timely decision-
making
 Fosters creativity & innovation
 Enhances communication
 Supports culture of learning, customer-
focus, and moving from “good” to “best”
The Tacit Knowledge Problem
 Unique properties of Knowledge
 Access to people and their ideas, and
expertise
 Not all knowledge easily codified
 Trust
 Community context
 Peer rating feedback also important
Managing knowledge
‘Knowledge has become the key to success,
it is simply to valuable a resource to be left
to chance’ (Wenger)

Knowledge management (KM) is :

‘A trans-disciplinary approach to
improving organisational outcomes and
learning, through maximising the use of
knowledge’
Critical Concepts for KM
What’s to Manage?

 Organisational information

 Organisational knowledge

 Individual knowledge
A KM interpretation

– Recognizing the value of knowledge in decision

making and innovation
– Developing a culture of challenge existing
beliefs and ‘ways of doing’
– Embracing new knowledge -use the specialized
knowledge of experts
– Looking for patterns and trends in information
and processes
 Paradoxes of Knowledge
Using knowledge does not consume it but
it does get obsolete.
 Transferring knowledge does not lose it but
market mechanisms allow ownership.
 Knowledge is abundant, but the ability to use it is
scarce.
 Producing knowledge resists organisation.

 Much of it walks out the door at the end of the day.

The Challenge of Knowledge
Management
Not only of how to develop new knowledge, BUT

 how to locate and acquire others’ knowledge

 how to diffuse knowledge in your organisation
 how to recognize knowledge interconnections
 how to embody knowledge in products
 how to get access to the learning experiences of
customers
looking at key elements

• people
• processes
• technology
 The KM Journey - the Fivefold Way
Establish effective information capture and
management systems & processes
 Identify/map organisational & individual
knowledge capabilities – your knowledge asset
register
 Codify knowledge where possible, but don’t discard
non-codifiable (tacit) components
 Nourish a culture that supports and rewards
knowledge sharing
 Promote individual knowledge development

AND THEY ALL INTERACT!

Intellectual Property
Steady Growth in patents and trademarks
Licensing IP as part of smart Intellectual Asset Management
Case Example: Yet2.com ( recently acquired by Scipher)

http://www.european-patent-office.org/tws/tsr_2000/31demand.htm
 What are the challenges?
• attaining understanding & commitment
• developing trust across the organisation
• addressing the people and cultural issues
• not allowing technology to dictate KM
• have a specific business goal for KM
• quantify the up-front and in-service costs and benefits
• measuring performance
• considering regulatory requirements, best practices,
guidelines
• leadership
• integrating KM across the organisation
 Who is involved
Knowledge management is everyone’s responsibility.
• leaders need to demonstrate a vision for the organisation
and actively support knowledge management initiatives
• managers need to support knowledge workers and provide
environments conducive to knowledge sharing and creation
• knowledge workers need to share knowledge with each
other and ensure that their knowledge management work is
visibly linked to organisational objectives
Introduction
 Innovation is more than a good idea
 It is the process that takes a good idea,
improves it and implements it.
– Purpose
– Commitment
– Ability
– Support
Are we open to new ideas?
Is your company open and receptive to new ideas?
What happens when someone comes up with an
idea?
What sort of reaction do new ideas get form the
rest of the organisation?
We tried all that before, It is too expensive,
……
Let us see some famous “impulsive remarks”
Famous Remarks
 On the Microchip:
“But what is it good for?”
Engineer at Advanced Computing Systems Division of
IBM 1968
 Home PC:
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer
in their home”
Ken Olsen, President, Chairman and Founder of Digital
Equipment Corp, 1977
 Memory
“ 640K is ought to be enough for anybody”
Bill Gates, 1981
Famous Remarks
 Telephone:
“This telephone has too many shortcomings to be
seriously considered as a means of communication. This
device is inherently of no value to us”
Western Union—Internal memo
 Radio
“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial
value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in
particular”
David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for
investments in the Radio in the 1920’s
 Talking Pictures
“Who the hell wants to hear the actors talk?”
HM Warner, Warner Brothers,1927
Famous Remarks
 Beatles
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on their way
out.”
Decca Recording Corporation, rejecting Beatles, 1962
 Airplanes
“Heavier-than-air Flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society , 1895
“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value”
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole
Superieure de Guerre
 Oil
“Drill for Oil ? You mean drill into the ground to try and find
oil? You’re crazy”
Drillers whom Edwin L Drake tried to enlist to his project
Getting Innovation started
 Innovation is like juggling. The organisation needs to
focus on purpose, commitment, ideas and support
 Most companies are not short of ideas. What they lack
is the commitment of others, the weight required to
overcome the obstacles
 Innovation needs people who think in different ways
 People who are good at problem solving and analysis
 People who are capable of following hunches and
convert them into ideas
 People who are capable of implementing them
Innovation will fail if it is left to a creative few
The idea process
 Create thinking space:
– What is the best surrounding one likes to think. Try to
bring it into the office ( provided they fit the professional
culture)
– Bring in Colour in the meeting rooms
Climb the ladder:
Top Rung How do I make the organization more innovative

One rung down How do I Make my division more innovative

Third rung How do I make my team more innovative

Fourth rung How can I be more innovative

Fifth rung How can I implement one new idea?

Tools of the Trade-Exploring
 Brainstorming
– Best in groups
– Get the maximum number
– Do not evaluate ideas before the session finishes
– Clearly stated problem
– One person to jot the ideas
 Mixing Metaphors
– Have something in mind that you want ideas about
– Pick an object to use as a metaphor
– List all characteristics of the object
– Stop and think about each characteristic
– If they give any ideas, list them
– Use another object if you want more ideas
Acting the Idea process

 Selecting the ideas with the greatest potential

 Developing them further and modifying them
 Being very clear about the final shape and what it will
look like
 Well-thought-through Plan for turning the idea into
reality

Walking Back
1. Just imagine
2. Take one step backwards
3. Keep walking backwards or catch it by the tail
Support
 Is the key to success of innovation
 Example: standing in a an election
– Ticket, media campaigns, promotional material,
fundraising schemes, volunteers from the party
It is only people you know who will support your ideas
In Politics, the best candidate does not always win,
but the best supported candidate
What we should we stop, what we should start and
what we should continue to do to foster innovation
Support
 Improve company memory
– Too many good ideas are lost before they see the light of the day
– We should keep a record of the ideas. They may be full of stuff
with little value but some gems may be hidden!!!
 Give people time
 Risk taking ability to be fostered
 People should enjoy the innovation process
 Networking ability
– Be good at remembering faces and names
– Make yourself available to others
– Ask for help from coworkers and not managers
– Become aware of the informal communication channels
Celebration and Rewards
 Publicity and celebration of success are key to promote
the innovation process
 Recognition is the key to motivate the people.
 Apart from tangible rewards, recognition is also a very
nice way of recognition
If everything is under control
you are just not driving
fast enough