3m Post It
1. The Post-It notes, due to their innovative nature, turned out to be the sort of product which is difficult to describe to people who are unfamiliar with it. A Post-it note solves a problem that people were not even aware they had, yet it is just a sticky piece of paper. Doesn't sound interesting... For these reasons regular advertising campaigns proved ineffective.
2. Silver – invented the adhesive and kept the "project" alive for a long time. Fry – came up with the product idea for Post-it and led the team that developed it. Nicholson – R&D leader, loved the idea and decided to support it (budget wise). Nicholson also pushed for the hands-on marketing approach instead of axing the project.
3. The concept that innovative product ideas can come from low ranking employees applies to many tech companies. Management should encourage employees to come up with ideas and give employees the time to pursue their inventions. Having said that, low rankings employees can't always get their products up the ladder, this is certainly the case for 3M. Products don't die at 3M, but this case study does suggest that many good ideas never materialize to a good product. After all, the Post-It success looks a bit miraculous, and miracles don't happen very often.
4. Every 3M researcher gets to spend up to 15% of his time pursuing his own interests. This policy is immeasurable because of the very nature of a scientist job. For example, when he is reading a scientific article, only he knows whether it is related to his primary assignment.
5. The post-it adhesive was a new discovery and it was patented. The post-it manufacturing process also involved a lot of innovation. It did not fly at first because an adhesive that does not stick is not a product; it is just a means to an end.
6. Mixing materials in a manner which is not in the books is a scientific experiment, although not a conventional one. One could argue that the discovery that resulted from this experience was an
2. Silver – invented the adhesive and kept the "project" alive for a long time. Fry – came up with the product idea for Post-it and led the team that developed it. Nicholson – R&D leader, loved the idea and decided to support it (budget wise). Nicholson also pushed for the hands-on marketing approach instead of axing the project.
3. The concept that innovative product ideas can come from low ranking employees applies to many tech companies. Management should encourage employees to come up with ideas and give employees the time to pursue their inventions. Having said that, low rankings employees can't always get their products up the ladder, this is certainly the case for 3M. Products don't die at 3M, but this case study does suggest that many good ideas never materialize to a good product. After all, the Post-It success looks a bit miraculous, and miracles don't happen very often.
4. Every 3M researcher gets to spend up to 15% of his time pursuing his own interests. This policy is immeasurable because of the very nature of a scientist job. For example, when he is reading a scientific article, only he knows whether it is related to his primary assignment.
5. The post-it adhesive was a new discovery and it was patented. The post-it manufacturing process also involved a lot of innovation. It did not fly at first because an adhesive that does not stick is not a product; it is just a means to an end.
6. Mixing materials in a manner which is not in the books is a scientific experiment, although not a conventional one. One could argue that the discovery that resulted from this experience was an