THE INNOVATION ECONOMY -- MANAGING FOR INNOVATION

BusinessWeekOnline ^ | By Robert D. Hof with Peter Burrows, in San Mateo, Calif., Steve Hamm and Diane Brady in New York, a

[ckilmer]

THE INNOVATION ECONOMY -- MANAGING FOR INNOVATION

Building An Idea Factory Inspiration is fine, but above all, innovation is really a management process.

Ask most people who invented the lightbulb, and they will promptly provide the wrong answer: Thomas Alva Edison. Truth is, the famous inventor's 1879 debut of his incandescent light trailed others by decades. So why does he get all the glory? Mostly because of what he did next, notes Andrew Hargadon, author of How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth about How Companies Innovate. To get his creation to the masses, Edison and his team of engineers in Menlo Park, N.J., spent years building the entire electric system, from light sockets and safety fuses to generating facilities and the wiring network. Only then did the electric light flare into the innovation that lit the world.

[Willie Green]

To get his creation to the masses, Edison and his team of engineers in Menlo Park, N.J., spent years building the entire electric system, from light sockets and safety fuses to generating facilities and the wiring network. Only then did the electric light flare into the innovation that lit the world.

The Bush Administration is actively outsourcing this activity to India and China.

[isthisnickcool]

The Bush Administration is actively outsourcing this activity to India and China.

Last time I check Edison was dead..........

[Moonman62]

Actually, arc lights were the standard before the Edison bulb. Edison simply built a better bulb.