Innovation the 3M way – applying base technologies across market segements
Recently the Innovation Council hosted a tour and discussion at 3M. Michael Holderness our host organised a tour of their innovation centre and purpose built 5 star rated sustainable building; as well as a lively discussion about the practices and processes that they use at 3M and the products and services that they have developed.
What stood out for me most about this discussion was the shear number of products and services launched as a result of developing one piece of base technology and applying it to several market verticles.
In a recent article in the New Zealand Herald, Peter Lee – CEO of UniServices said; ”this country excels at knowledge-based innovation, which can be worth a lot of money even before it is developed into a finished product. Research and development, can be a lucrative business in its own right…corporations will pay for intellectual property,” he said.
So…our challenge New Zealand is to develop new products and services by finding new ways to apply technology across markets and sectors.
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