AAWSAP DIRD, Maverick Inventor Versus Corporate Inventor: Where Will the Next Major Innovations Arise, March 2010

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already been tried, using resources not generally available to the maverick inventor,
such as patent searches, scientific and technical documents, or an in-house library.
Another benefit is access to the latest technical apparatus, prototyping, and machining
capabilities. In most cases, the inventor does not need to be an expert in the operation
of all types of analytical or experimental equipment or machine tools. There are
technicians at his disposal! able to convert his ideas i1nto reality.
A relatively recent development in the larger organizations is the establishment of a
"blue-sky" team of highly creative individuals, sometimes just two or three people,
whose job it is to think outside the corporate box and provide directions and policy,
usually for the long term. However, in general, their tasks still fall within the general
purview of the entity funding them. Sometimes government laboratories will allow such
teams to investigate unusual areas and possibly set up experiments leading to eventual
inventions assigned to the laboratory. A particular example is that of Tajmar (Reference
4). Other relevant models for this type of activity are found in research and university
hospitals, where continuous innovation is the norm.
Corporate inventors also benefit from belonging to an organization that includes people
with business acumen. An invention is worthless as a commercial innovation if it cannot
be produced or marketed at a competitive price. The business side of the corporation is
an essential component of successful innovation. The maverick inventor typically does
not have these skills close at hand, and often the enterprise fails not for technical
reasons, but because the inventor has not thought out an appropriate business plan.
However, there are drawbacks to the life of the corporate inventor. Fluctuations in the
overall economy can put projects on hold, cause them to be canceled, or force layoffs
that can stall or kill a project. The maverick inventor will strive to keep his project alive
regardless of the external economy, which unfortunately sometimes means loss of
savings, house, family, friends, and so forth. A Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome
often can interfere with overall progress in areas where a corporate inventor approach
is the most suitable. If an idea did not originate with a particular organization, it may
not be pursued, even though it may represent the best approach. Maverick inventors
rarely suffer from NIH. Whereas the maverick inventor is generally accustomed to
putting 100 percent of his time into the invention, the corporate inventor may suffer
from burnout if he is not as personally motivated or has such a personal stock in the
invention. After a while, "group think" syndrome can infect large organizations,
including their innovators. This happens in organizations that do not recognize or
encourage radical thinking, resulting in mediocre innovation performance. This process
is exacerbated if the number of projects being attended to by corporate inventors starts
to overwhelm them. The maverick inventor is usually single minded in his attention.
Technologies
In order to gain a clearer understanding of the relatiive roles of the maverick and the
corporate inventor, it is instructive to observe how each addresses specific technological
areas. This paper concentrates on innovations in the areas of unconventional energy
and propulsion systems as examples of ideas pursued by the maverick inventor in
particular. The study does not focus on how the personality of the maverick inventor
determines his innovative capacity so much as it focuses on what tools and techniques
are available to him in addressing a particular potential innovation.
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