The secret of how Xerox creates an environment where creativity abounds, where intrapreneurs are nurtured, and where innovation flourishes is no longer a secret.
"It comes from attracting extremely bright scientists and engineers, dreaming with your customers, creating with partners, not being afraid, and following your passion," said Sophie Vandebroek. Xerox Chief Technology Officer and President of the Xerox Innovation Group.
She shared her thoughts on nurturing creativity and "a-ha moments" during the 2006 Creativity World Forum. More than 1,000 European business executives heard Vandebroek's keynote address. Here are some highlights:
It's all about people.
...This sounds trivial but it is so true. A similar job done by different people often turns out significantly different. I am sure all of you have experienced this.
So what kind of people do we look for to successfully innovate? Characteristics include: top-notch creative people, experts in their fields (whether nanotechnology, computer science, linguistics, mechanical engineering, chemist etc...), people who have the passion and soft skills to influence and drive change. Finally and extremely important, I look to create a diverse environment as this is critical to enable creativity...
"In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." Charles Darwin
Dream with your customer
Once you have the creative and intrapreneurial team in place, you have to focus on differentiating products and solutions that will create customer value. Our researchers focus on customer problems and customer pain points as a source of inspiration. One of our creative scientists with nearly 150 patents to his credit, explains his satisfaction comes from success with customers: "It's the dream of any inventor to see something go from the test tubes to the product line."
An example is self-erasing paper that would allow customers to re-use the same sheet of paper again and again. Xerox researchers are working with customers and determining their specific needs. They have found a lot of answers and some customers who were wowed by the concept. The project is currently under development...
"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them. " John Updike, author
Open Innovation.
...Even though 5,000 world class scientists and engineers work for Xerox, they won't be the source of all the good ideas. Creativity is everywhere, so Xerox must collaborate to develop the technologies our customers dream about...
"Not all the smart people work for you, so you better go find them, connect to them, and build upon what they can do." Henry Chesbrough
Don't be Afraid.
...Driving Innovation, being creative and intrapreneurial is not without risk. In fact, for any organization, it is more dangerous not to take risks and become commoditized by others. So short-term risks which involve challenging existing assumptions, in the end, will significantly reduce a company's long-term risk of relying on outdated assumptions and therefore becoming obsolete.
Xerox has made a huge bet on a new technology several times in its history. "We did it when we developed the first plain-paper copier over 50 years ago," Vandebroek said, "and recently we did it again with our iGen3 digital color production press. Betting on a market that didn't even exist is what I call 'taking risks.'"
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." Albert Einstein
Have Fun.
...It is extremely critical that once you have the right people, that their intellect, as well as their passion, is committed to their projects. You cannot create the energy and passion to overcome all the obstacles that will be thrown your way. An intrapreneur radiates the optimism required to inspire the team members and keep all the partnerships aligned...
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." Aristotle
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