Innovation - From Two Different Points of View

My job experience spanned two industries that are always itching for the next new innovation - aerospace and clean energy. In these two industries, there are basically two dominate set of people. There are the Engineers and there are the Business Developers. How do they view innovation?  

Let’s start with the Engineers. Most Engineers I know love solving problems. Their training drives them to getting onto a specific solution quickly. In fact, they want to build a prototype quickly, test it out, and improve on it. The problem must be solved. Unfortunately, in this relentless pursuit of problem solving, oftentimes the Engineers miss the forest for the tree. They are hampered from the “big picture.” In fact, I would dare say that my colleagues in finance are very similar to Engineers. They both like a black and white world. 

Regrettably, this is not good for innovation. Innovation occurs in that gray space. People often think that because Engineers like to build stuff, they are innovators. However, an Engineer would oftentimes hone in on an idea passionately but without a good understanding of the real market needs and trends.

The market needs, trends, and opportunities should come from Business Development. Unfortunately, while the Engineering jobs are very narrowly defined, Business Development, i.e., marketing, suffers from the reverse – a WAAAYYY too broad definition. 

The Business Developers that I know have large breadth of responsibility, including customer relations, marketing communications, trade show management, conferences and events, product management, social media, etc. In fact, in some large Fortune 500 Companies, Strategy is also part of Business Development. Business Developers have been asked to cast a VERY VERY large net and to a certain extent have lost sight of the basic purpose of marketing – to identify segments and customers who have needs, and understand how to fill those needs effectively. If Business Developers fill that function, then they are innovative in nature, because they want to know and understand customer needs.

Unfortunately, Business Developers are more worried about the CRM, setting up the next customer meeting, attending the next trade show, etc., and they fail to truly understand customer needs and develop scenarios about the market of the future.`

So, what is the reality? Business Development is spread too thin to do its primary job – understand customers and develop potential product and service ideas. As a result, Engineers do not get sufficient insight into actual customer needs. What happens? Engineers do what engineers do. They go off to explore interesting new technologies that may, or may not, be important to customers. Have you heard the saying, “The customer wanted a Casio but the engineer built a Rolex”? Sure you have. 

Neither, and both, are at fault.

Engineers should demand that Business Development do a better job of defining near term customer needs and emerging requirements. Without that insight, it is difficult to build interesting new products and technology roadmaps. Engineers on the other hand need to be more ready to engage the market with rough, fast prototypes, and work to an iterative model. If there is an issue in most companies, it’s that we all have become too far removed from the customer and fail to understand their wants and needs. 

This reminds me of a scene from the movie Cars (Pixar, 2006). The main character, Lightning McQueen, goes to Luigi's tire shop looking for a set of new tires. Here is the exchange.

Lightning McQueen : All right, Luigi, give me the best set of black walls you've got.

Luigi : No, no, no! You don't know what you want! Luigi know what you want. 

I am sure we don't make this mistake. Or do we?

In my mind, a Business Developer and an Engineer are analogous to a hunter and skinner. It is Business Development’s job to discover the needs of the customer and translate them into specific opportunities for Engineers to design and build.

So, how do you create an environment where Business Developers and Engineers can excel in their jobs? What is management’s role in helping these two important functions work together?