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0:00
My name is John Bessant.
I'm Emeritus Professor of
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
at the University of
Exeter in the UK.
This talk is all about managing
innovation as a process.
0:16
Let me ask you a question.
When did you last
use your Spangler?
I'm pretty sure most
of you have got one
and some of you might have
touched yours recently.
I can imagine a sea of
very bemused faces.
Mr J. Murray Spangler.
His distinction was that
he was the inventor of
the electric vacuum
suction sweeper.
But he's a name
nobody's ever heard of.
However, William Hoover
we have heard of.
He didn't invent
the vacuum cleaner,
but built a global business
innovating around that.
0:49
That's sadly rather
a typical pattern.
For example, members of
The Fraunhofer Institute for
Integrated Circuits in Germany.
They have the distinction of
having invented the MP3 algorithm.
But that algorithm wasn't
really something that
changed the world
through their efforts.
Nor indeed, Tomislav Uzelac,
who was the first one to
put the algorithm together
with some bits and
pieces of electronics
to create the world's
first MP3 player.
No, it was Steve Jobs
and the Apple company
that basically put
one of these devices,
the MP3 player, in the
hands of everyone and
spawned a revolution in
the way we consume music.
1:29
That really reminds us that
innovation isn't like the cartoons.
Those light bulbs flashing
above someone's head,
that's not innovation.
That's invention.
It's a really important
starting point.
But on its own, it's not enough.
Invention isn't enough.
