We have the capacity to move the way people think and act with what we do in Research & Development. After reviewing several books on “Open” innovation and thinking about how we will sustain our companies’ competitive edge, I thought about and clarified what our R&D vision is.
Develop the most comprehensive and useful knowledge base on running internet companies in the world (Anant Corporation)
Research
Our research needs to be focused on learning something new, gathering knowledge, conceptualizing an idea, or creating a prototype to prove an idea is possible. It is okay for us to spend some time on figuring out if something will work or not. For us, research is also about gathering knowledge so that we are smarter for our client and internal needs. The output of our Research should be one of the following:
- Knowledge – Something that can be transferred from one team member to another. From us to a client. From us to the industry. This can be a publication, a blog post, a knowledge base entry.
- Innovation – A formula, a prototype, an invention that can be shown as working or partially working. It’s something that another member of the team can use to iterate to the next level. It’s something that we can use to potentially develop a product or service a client.
- Experience – In order for Research work to add Experience to the company, another person needs to be able to be able to do something new. The end result should be a training, internal, or external.
Development
Our development needs to be focused on delivering working product or service. The goal is to take Research that either we’ve done or found elsewhere and making something real that can be sold to the masses, our clients, or to our partners. The output of our Research should be one of the following:
- Product – A product is something that can be mass manufactured, distributed or sold. Our effort in creating new products should be focused on adding value to our customers. It could be a module, a theme, a complete application.
- Service – A service is soemthing that we do consistently and can scale it for customers, clients, or ourselves. Our effort in developing new services should be focused on creating ongoing value to our customers. It could be a process, a set of processes, a practice, etc.
- Team – As we grow as a firm, the products and services we create will need teams. Team development is the most important aspect of our Development process. Without a team of People, no processes can be executed to produce ideas or service others.
- Company – In line with our overall vision of the world, we want to empower people to become entrepreneurs. As product and services become teams, we can foster them to grow into companies.
Some of the books that I read or reviewed are Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape
, Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era
,and Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology
.