This past week I visited Cambridge, MA and met with MIT Sloan Research Scientist George Westerman. The topic was EMC’s Innovation Network and how to effectively run a global collection of research nodes that are responsible for advancing EMC’s technology strategy.
One of the reasons for meeting with George on this topic is that it directly relates to his area of expertise. He studied 19 different innovation committees or teams and looked at their long-term ability to survive at their respective corporations. As the EMC Innovation Network enters its 6th year, I was interested to hear his findings.
He told me that 6 out of the 19 innovation teams survived. Out of those 6, he analyzed why they were successful. He broke it down into two phases: year one and beyond.
- The first year of these successful teams were characterized by being separate, sponsored, and small. We did not dive into each term in detail, but I’m guessing he meant the following:
- Separate: the group needed a certain level of autonomy.
- Sponsored: the group was in some way “blessed” by the corporation, and in particular a high-ranking executive.
- Small: the group was made up of roughly half a dozen people, give or take.
- Beyond the first year, these teams stayed successful by becoming systematic, shared, and seen. My interpretation:
- Systematic means that the team developed an effective, productive cadence
- Shared means that the group expanded beyond their small team and began effectively partnering with others.
- Seen means that their work became visible and recognized
Given that EMC’s Innovation Network (EIN) falls into category two, I feel that George’s theory applies. The EIN has certainly become systematic, shared, and seen. For example, Pat Gelsinger sent out an email to every EMC employee this week encouraging participation in the yearly Innovation Showcase. That is an example of a high visibility team.
I’m going to apply his advice to the newly formed global team I’m involved with. We are in month one. According to George, we should work on being separate, sponsored, and small.
In a year or so, with any success, I’ll write another blog post about our transition to being systematic, shared, and seen.
Steve
Twitter: @SteveTodd
