This is from a post I had on a previous blog. It something I have been asked to think about for an upcoming event, so I thought is was appropriate to bring it back.
So what the heck does it mean “People than can do things innovate?” While working for Swagelok I helped spearhead their SAF 2507 Joining Technology Project and had the pleasure of working closely with a Norwegian Oil & Gas executive brought on as a consultant for the project. This guy embodied the spirit of a modern day “Viking” in every sense.
When we interviewed various mechanical engineers to lead the design phase, I told him there was one guy I thought had the right mentality and outlook on the many challenges we faced proving out the technology. He was the only one who actually did not say “no, it can not be done.” The Viking exec asked a rather funny question: “Well, can he do things?” What? He then went on to ask: “Can he take decisions on his own? Can he engineer or is he a manager wanna be who needs others to do the work? Can do the prototype?” We did not need someone to simply lead the project and tell people what to do; we wanted someone to “do” the project and get things done!
As it turned out the ME was an aerospace engineer who was highly proficient in FEA (pushing the mechanical design limits of things that fly), sourcing stuff, and liked to be on the floor where things were being made. He had absolutely no interest in politics, being in the board room or shmoozing with the hire ups. He was a curious and intensely committed engineer who also turned out to be great with customers. He can do things making him predisposed to innovation. Who are the most important people on your innovation team?
[...] 1) People who can do things. They can sell, engineer, create presentations and marketing materials, and can communicate effectively. Generally, people that can do things are the ones that push things through to completion. They are creative, technical, and can improvise to just get things done. They are virtuosos in their own right, but also understand enough about other matters to have the where-with-all to meet critical deadlines. [...]
[...] What? Ideas are just ideas and the fewer experts the better. It’s more important to have people who can do things and keep prototyping costs to a bare minimum. Of course Minter and Reid are really selling their service as idea experts so this a an expected plug from them. Importantly, they do not “do” innovation from their list of services. [...]
[...] This is one of the best ideas I have heard of in a while. TechShop can be thought of as a country club (perhaps fitness center wold be a better analogy) for Geniuses, Artists and Innovators who have ideas and need to get them past the stage of “idea” or “concept.” Prototyping can be kind of costly, even if it is not a working sample. While stereolithography and rapid prototyping have made things a lot easier and cost effective, if you are someone who a href=”http://untether.koyono.com/2006/11/05/people-that-can-do-things-innovate/”>”can do things,” tech shop might be for you. For $100 / month or $1,100 per year, you can become a member of and have access to a 15,000 ft. workshop with a range of tools and equipment for machining, sheet metal work, welding, casting, laser cutting, rapid prototyping, CAD/CNC, composite work, and much more. Of course, the best part about TechShop is the community of like minded tinkerers. For areas like Cleveland, OH, that are challenged with figuring out their future, this could be a low cost, ground level activity to spark some innovation and future economic development. [...]