6.Setting IBM's R&D Agenda

Hello, Guys. From the Markstart program, we know that R&D is essential, so we put lots of money to R&D to differentiate from competitors. This is not only situation happened in the program but also happened in real world. I found an article about IBM, which is a leader of R&D department in the industry, is trying to keep their position through new R&D agenda.


reference:http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2008/id20080416_955900.htm



John Kelly, who is the head of R&D department in IBM, has faced a challenge that is to balance IBM’s history in R&D with a rapidly changing business environment. Although IBM is the top in the R&D area in the U.S. so far, there are new competitions against the top such as Google, and Microsoft, and the competitions are investing and gaining ground on IBM in the patents area. He realized that the company had to be able to transform and reinvent itself without an increase in the research budget, also to achieve this goal, creative and opinionate researchers are required.




Setting IBM’s Agenda

He went around many countries where IBM laboratories are and gathered researchers’ opinions. Some of awareness from them what IBM needs to is that they should become more global and they should focus on a few projects. According this analysis, he decided to build a “collaboratories” to focus on not the problem but a country, city, area where the problem is primary, also he realign the company’s project like four long-term project(up to 20 years) with short-term(one or two years) and very large project with small one.
Besides, he asked researchers who are located in many countries to take part in a meeting through connected video link to listen to their opinion about their projects frequently.




How to manage the researchers: leadership

What he did to lead the researchers to the new direction with him were being patient and understanding creative process. He didn’t make hasty decisions and spent several months visiting their laboratories and gathering information what IBM needs. In addition to, he knew how creative people can be a little different. They might cause challenges for managers and then get out of their way. Even though this is also challenge for Kelly, he appreciates and embraces them because he knows that complements are more effective than criticism for them.






We already know R&D is important, but we wouldn’t know that it is more important how to operate R&D project in the department. Google allows their employees to use their work time for creative project themselves. IBM is trying to keep listening creative opinion from their R&D researchers. It seems like innovation in R&D. Then, everyone knows this is not an option. It’s a matter of survival.



Posted by 20300121(Kim, Jae-Yoon)