Innovative thinkers; it is these
people who have a vision for the future and lead us to it. They take
conventionality and laugh in its face. Their boldness and charisma are examples
for everyone. Innovative thinking is what propelled us to use tools rather than
our bare hands, to discover fire, invent the wheel, and create the airplane. Innovative
thinkers dare to say no to social norms and embrace individualism. Coming up
with new ideas is the most critical component to keeping the technological
train rolling. One could argue that the 21
st century has witnessed the
greatest inventions in history. All of which started out as some crazy, far-fetched
idea. If we were to go back in time to
the 1930s and tell that generation that one day there will be a device used to
look up any question or interest and receive an answer in a matter of seconds,
they would probably look on it with disbelief. Take the 1930’s generation and
go to the 1820s, and tell the people of that generation that one day horses
will no longer be needed for transportation. Instead, people will be able to
control and ride in metal machines in order to go from point a to point b. They
too would find this idea difficult to believe. All outlandish technological
advances seem insane when first discussed. However, if you look in the side
view mirrors, the future could be sneaking up behind you.
There
are a vast amount of inventions and technological advances out there that years
ago seemed improbable. As the human race
continues to advance, the bar continues to be raised on what’s considered
groundbreaking. Whether you are in the field of marketing, advertising,
entrepreneurship, or engineering, everyone is searching for an innovative idea
that will separate them from the competition and punch their ticket to success.
Even the simplest thing could change life as we know it. This is not an
overnight process either. Years of brainstorming, implementing the plan, and
pitching it to investors are all necessary to making something realize its full
potential. That goes with anything you care about and believe has a bright
future. You want to ensure that it is getting the best chance possible.
The
process of turning a dream into a reality can be compared to a seed and its
transformation into a plant. It starts off small and insignificant, with great
hopes that it will evolve into something great. You can make predictions and
put in all the necessary work to help it succeed, but there is always the
chance that it might fail. You water it and pamper it daily, and the seed
starts to grow and develop into something new. Like an idea for an invention,
you begin to understand this thing has a chance. It is that excitement that
propels you forward. As the seed turns into a plant and grows and grows, its
full potential is realized. All the work leading up to the growth of this plant
is what made it transform from nothing into something. If you truly believe you
have a spectacular idea, you are going to do everything in your will power to
see it to fruition.
Entrepreneurs
can relate to the process of undertaking new innovations. The most obvious form
of entrepreneurship is starting a new business. Through collaboration of ideas
and projections, ideas take off and are converted into lucrative gain.
Inventors and Entrepreneurs are intertwined. They both pursue an opportunity
without regard to what anyone else thinks. Each requires equal amounts of
creativity and drive. Three entrepreneurs in history who reflect this way of
thinking are Joseph Schumpeter, Frank H. Knight and Peter Drucker. Schumpeter
defined an entrepreneur as a person who is willing and able to convert a new
idea or invention into a successful innovation. He calls it, “the gale of
creative destruction.” This is where you replace inferior innovations across markets
and industries, simultaneously creating new products including new business
models. In contrast to other entrepreneurs, Schumpeter believed entrepreneurs
did not bear risk, only the capitalist did. He saw entrepreneurs as the brains
behind the scenes and that was it.
Knight and Drucker played devil’s advocate to this rationale. For them,
entrepreneurship is all about taking risk. They believe that you have to be
willing to put your career or financial security on the line and truly stand
behind your idea. The time you spend on the idea is just as important as the
capital when you’re exploring an uncertain venture.
The person I did my interview with is Dr. Michael
Paige. For the last ten years, Dr. Paige has been a dean at Endicott College. Prior
to that, he was president of a startup in Manhattan, based on an intellectual
product that came out of Columbia, called Software Play. The professors that
created it needed someone to run the company so that was where he came in. And
before that he was head for Xerox in one of their advanced think tanks where
they chartered for building products ten years into the future. The Ethernet
and laser ink printing both came out of this organization. Dr. Paige knows a
thing or two about innovational thinking. After that venture he was president
of a large film company where he was making all the digital equipment and was
part of the transition between film products going all digital. His forte is
digital technology in a fast moving environment. “If you’re not pushing the
envelope; if you’re not pissing someone off, you’re probably not doing a good
job.” This is what Dean Paige said in regards to being a successful innovative
thinker. I conducted this interview to get his very knowledgeable outlook on
entrepreneurship and inventing.
Q. What would be the common goal of entrepreneur? What do they all want to
achieve?
A. Make money. Ya know some would say save the world or ya know improve the
climate or make everyone taller or shorter. But making a business out of this
thing is not a bad deal. Money is the way we keep score when comparing good
ideas versus bad ideas. Ultimately, it’s to make an impact, that’s what an
entrepreneur wants to do.
Q. What are some techniques used to achieve this wealth?
A. The problem is… Well let’s go back for a minute. There’s a lot of ways
to be innovative. It isn’t necessarily a thing. I mean Starbucks; the way they
used innovation is to give their part time employees benefits. And you go, why
does that make it great? Because now you got this happy kind of person who is
serving people at Starbucks. The kind of person who is serving you or making
the coffee is a way different cut than you’d get at McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts.
This better way of treating their staff reflects back on their product. And
that’s an innovation in its self. Another great example is Microsoft, when they
brought office suite together, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, they could always
transfer files and that made it unbeatable. There are products out there that
compete individually but because they fully integrated it this became an
innovation and made it really stand the test of time.
Q. Yeah, you mentioned it a little
bit, but could you talk about the process of taking a good idea, a creative
idea and actually turning it into a profitable product?
A. Well I could tell you from my own experience. Because I’ve been brought
in as a president of a startup where there’s a bunch of really bright guys,
who’ve got this really cool idea, ya know but to make it into a business, that
requires paying the rent, and paying salaries and making sure there’s a
marketing plan and making sure the investors are being satisfied so there is an
element of management required to move things forward. In many cases the guy
with the creative idea, really can’t drive the company. We had a great example
with Steve Jobbs, he was the first, he was the head of apple, he got to a point
where he was just creating but they were afraid he couldn’t run the company. He
was removed and came back and said haha cause he really ran the company great.
But the truth is he really, he was more of the creative guy. Then he morphed
himself into the super manager. But often times you have to remove the creative
creator from managing the company. Managing isn’t necessarily creative. A lot
of it is just dotting I’s and crossing T’s.
Q. You talked about Steve Jobbs and his innovative thinking. With him no
longer in the picture where is the field heading nowadays? Compared to where
it’s been in history?
A. What field?
Q. Entrepreneurship, inventing, where is that train of thinking today as
opposed to where it was 20, 25 years ago?
A. Well we seem to have the three hot areas. They are clearly bio tech
related, cause were all interested in health and learning about getting older.
And the mapping of DNA and all that stuff. That’s a hot hot area. Second area
has been around for a bit but hasn’t really been fully tapped. And that’s all
digital technology. Everything has gone digital. So now you’re recording this
conversation on an iphone and ya know pretty soon are we even going to need a
laptop anymore? You can do so much on that little thing. It makes you wonder
what the hell you’re even doing on a laptop (laughs). So the digital media is
hot, bio tech is hot and actually those two are converging because a lot of the
devices if not all of them are digital. And energy would be the third one. We
really need energy because without that we wouldn’t be able to recharge that
stupid battery (pointing at phone).
Q. (Laughs) So there are three types of entrepreneurship, social, political
and knowledge. Could you talk about those a little bit?
A. (Pause) Well they’re actually three parts of the same deal, social,
political and knowledge. Knowledge, that’s the easiest one, which is looking at
what we already have, sifting through this and discovering combinations that no
one’s explored. Or frankly, your iphone and search and all that stuff, the fact
that we can now have tons of stuff out or online. And with social
entrepreneurship they actually go hand and hand. When you make a major
technological change it has social implications because you’re carrying around
that rather silly flat device which you think of as a phone. It doesn’t contour
to your ear, you keep it in your back pocket and that has caused a social
change in you. And speaking on a large scale, it’s caused a cultural change.
Political is half way in between the two, like we saw in the last political
election with Obama tapping into the grass roots through small donations from
quadzillions of people. So they’re all kind of merging together and they have
different impacts. One is trying to improve the world; one is trying to improve
our lives. So I guess you can tell the differences between the three at some
points, but then you can’t tell in others.
Q. Switching gears a little, could you talk about the process of obtaining
a patent? Do entrepreneurs have to go through the same process as an inventor?
A. That’s the only thing you got. At the end of the day all you have is the
idea. And it’s this idea that is worth so much money. Inventors have to do it
to protect this amazing asset and idea. But a company really has to protect it
because literally that’s the one thing you have to protect it. Because any
other company can copy. I mean looking at Apple and Samsung and the current
lawsuit claim is that Samsung is copying a lot of the same interface stuff and
the way they do things from Apple. And Apple says hey that’s unique to me. This
case has gone back and forth but that’s a major issue. Apple claims it was
patented. So you have to patent your ideas. Unless you strategically decide
against it and what I mean by that is when you file for a patent, its available
to the public, so the public knows this is your idea and they can look at that
idea and go hey I know what he’s thinking and I know where he’s likely to go
next and you really reveal your hand. So a lot of companies have a very
strategic decision. Do you go for the patent and announce it to the world or do
you literally go in a stealth mode and try to keep so far and so fast ahead of
them that even if they figure out what you’re doing, you’re five or six years
ahead of them.
Q. Has there ever been an idea or business startup that you said they don’t
have a chance, and five years down the road, you look back and see wow that
actually took off?
A. I think the thing in front of you (laughs). At the time the iphone move
happened, everybody was going into contour phones, ones that sort of fit your
hand in your ear. And this thing came out different then everyone else with
this flat surface. They envisioned something beyond a phone. They said this is
going to be a data center. I mean you can’t seem to invent smaller fingers,
were limited by our own physicality. So they kind of pioneered something here.
(Pause) I’ve seen ideas that I couldn’t believe were going to happen and then
they turn out to be like everybody’s gotta have it. I thought the ipad when I
first saw it, I couldn’t quite figure out where it was going to fit, it wasn’t
a laptop and it wasn’t a phone, and really it’s only good for email and
internet surfing. And now Microsoft took to it and said this is now the new
format, this is the new bar.
Q. Looking at the iphone or other product startups what are some of the
risks a company would have before the product hits the big time?
A. It depends on who you are. If you are the first mover, what I mean by
first mover is the first person moving this idea to the market. It’s really a
strange deal. You gotta educate the market as to why this is important and to
why you should be abandoning the other technology. So that is a very strategic
move. You gotta put a lot of money investing and convincing the market that they’re
really gonna want this thing, that there is a need for it, of course now your
showing the world your hand. Okay so you’re going to have to spend a lot of
money very quickly to get it out there. Because the bigger community of users
gets, the more it catches on. And then once people get on board, the idea gets
built off of, like the accessory business for that case on your phone. That
size phone is becoming the standard. Apple is the one that introduced this
technology. They’re gonna get you to buy it and then create a compelling
argument why you need all this other stuff for it. With the apps in
particularly, they’ve become really powerful but now they gotta move faster
than the entire market does. So as soon as you show your hand, you gotta be
running extremely fast.
Q. Do you think it’s more difficult or do you think you’re better off starting
an entirely new market or joining a market and adding on to it and trying to be
the best player in that category?
A. Depends on how much nerve you got. There are a lot of companies that
created markets that are now toast. A
stupid example, disposable baby diapers. The company that first introduced this
product was a company called Chucks. No one knows who the hell they are anymore
but Pampers came in later and now they own the market. Tivo, they were the
first company to come up with a software package that allows you to customize
your search for TV programs. You could say I want all the movies with Brad Pitt
in it, or I want all the movies by this director and you could program this
Tivo box and it would grab these things for you so you can store it and play it
whenever you want it to. Great idea, but now everyone does it. The first guy in,
doesn’t always win. It requires a great deal of corporate drive and resources
to get in and own the market and then keep ahead. Apple created all these
innovative products and now they’re under incredible attack by everyone else
because now everyone is in this smartphone market. You see Apple’s stock shares
going down, still great company but they’re losing money cause everyone is
competing with them.
Q. If I’m pitching a new idea to a company, what are some of the things
they would be looking for to make sure they want to put a good investment into
your product?
A. You. The companies I’ve been involved in, things that I’ve been engaged
in… You’re not betting on that thing, you’re betting on you to make that thing
work. So you’re as much selling yourself as the product because there is gonna
be some “oh shit” moment that comes up and they want to see that you can roll
with the punches and make it work. So it’s as much about the idea as believing
in you’re the guy to pull this off. For example, someone who’s had a great
track record puts a new product out there and says I think you should invest in
me. I got this basic idea and he gets money even though he’s got a really vague
idea because people bet on him more and his track record. Playing devil’s
advocate, there are people that come up with these great ideas and they are
just starting out, and investors wonder can you really make this thing happen?
And they don’t get the funding.
Q. The American way of thinking and innovation, is it a lot different than
other countries right now?
A. Once upon a time, we would claim that the United States was the
innovation center of the universe, because we think out of the box all the time
and over the years certain countries have been very good followers. We have set
the trend and the fashion and some other companies have done a better job
implementing things, so for years I think we ran on that. But now European
startups are just as cool as our stuff. And looking at Japan and the Wii box,
that electronic game, Nintendo said hey this is a cool idea, I could do this
thing. When the Wii was introduced, it swept the market; suddenly there was a
family gaming thing. Gaming had always been for guys and killing people and
blowing heads off, and now it was a fun thing, a family thing. They captured
the market and then came under attack by everyone else. Like Xbox Kinect, and
PlayStation Move. And now they’ve kind of beaten Nintendo at its own game.
Perfect example of getting in early, gotta be cool, but you gotta keep on
maintaining it because people will come in and eat your lunch.
Q. Yeah I know with all the Japanese automakers, the U.S. seems behind the
8-ball and fewer people feel like they could trust American cars.
A. Oh yeah definitely. All the Japanese automakers got smart. Toyota is a
great example. They made the Toyota line and they went upscale to fight against
the Mercedes so they created the Lexus line to kind of go for the high end of
the market and then Toyota said okay great, I’ll create Scion as another
division and go after the lower end of the market. So in order to compete in
the market most effectively Toyota made 3 lines to cover all needs. And these
are great strategic moves. Small markets have the problem of finding the market
and really honing in on exactly what they want to sell. And a lot of the time,
that small idea gets bought out by a larger company. Not that the guys aren’t
bright but they haven’t got the resources to launch international marketing
campaigns. And this is for good reasons that small market ideas get acquired by
large market companies because they haven’t got the muscle to go further. And
the big company is usually desperate for something new, so it’s a win win.
Q. So what do you think are some of the best personal qualities of an
entrepreneur or successful inventor?
A. (Pause) They are really driven. It’s almost like it’s their life. You
can tell it. They just know that this is a consuming idea. It’s someone who is
thinking about this problem twenty four seven. Their mind is always going, such
a passion on their part and they can really be rewarded if they have a great
idea and they can cash in. Worzniak was the brains behind apple, he was the
techy guy you never hear about, but Jobbs was the showman and showmen often
times get all the attention.
Q. One last question, do you have any tips for people just getting their
feet wet in the business or any experiences that you had or any experiences you
recommend?
A. I highly recommend failure. Cause you’re going to. We all have sort of
groomed from school that getting a bad grade means you’re an idiot or something
but really in a way, getting a bad grade gives your something to build off of.
Anybody I've seen who has been really successful can show you a thousand things they've screwed up on. There’s a great quote from Thomas Edison, he looked to
the light bulb and had done thousands of experiments and finally got one that
actually worked and they said to him wow this is cool and he said yeah I now
know how to make ninety-nine light bulbs that don’t work but I have the one
that does work. We don’t like failure, we look at it, as some sort of black
mark but the truth is for a successful entrepreneur, you point at your failures
and say I’m never going to do that again. Look at the Wright brothers, they had
a great model, build an airplane and push it off a cliff and watch it crash and
say okay, that didn't work, let’s try it again. So you’re gonna have lots and
lots of failures. That tends to be frustrating but is absolutely necessary.
They want to think you get this great idea and everyone’s gonna want to buy it
but you gotta prepare yourself for failure, that’s key. And the best
entrepreneurs are going to be able to live through failure. It’s not gonna be
psychologically damaging. They’re going to pick themselves up and try again. I
wish we could teach failure in school (laughs) but we can’t.
