Innovation Podcasts

Listen to the latest Innovation podcast from Business Week and make sure you check out previous podcasts for some great insight on product development and innovation.

http://www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/podcasts/innovation/innovation_06_10_09.htm

Innovation in a Bad Economy - Part 2

Our last blog posting talked specifically about what companies are doing with R&D in the tough economic times we are facing. The moral of the story seemed to be that the right thing to do is not slow down the pace of development but rather make sure the focus areas are finely tuned.

As a follow-up, we wanted to share a relevant article which appeared in the Huffington Post on May 4. This piece sheds some light on what is currently going on among individual inventors and how the downturn in the economy has been felt widely, from investment capitalist to the patent office itself.

Read the article here

What happens to R&D in a tough economy?

With the economic downturn over the past many months, we made an extra effort to get some feedback from customers and competitors on what they are doing to react to this national problem and the possibility of a decline in their own business. The general response was a bit of a mixed bag. Some people said they planned on trying their best to weather the storm and would probably not focus much on R&D. There were some who commented that this is the best time for them to keep pressing forward with R&D so they can gain a competitive edge.

With limited cash on hand, many companies have to decide what do about R&D. Certainly any company that claims to be an "innovator" would not touch this part of the enterprise, recognizing that it is vital to their future. That sounds like the right response.....or is it?

Now is the time for companies to get in the trenches and really analyze their R&D investments so they can be sure they are moving forward in the right direction.

For more on this topic, read this article.