Question

3M is an innovative business. What makes the 3M company innovative as a business and personally? Is 3M a company that largely pursues sustained innovation, or would you consider them a disruptor?

Answer 1

One of the strengths of 3 M is how it treats promising staff: providing them with possibilities, supporting them and watching them learn and grow. 3 M offers a wealthy range of facilities and forums to generate a pool of practical thoughts that will then foster possibilities and provide the resources needed for achievement. Scientists are going out to the field to watch clients know their points of pain. Customers also visit Innovation Centers specifically set up to explore options, solve issues, and generate product thoughts. At the Technical Council, which meets regularly to discuss progress on technology initiatives, scientists share expertise and create relationships,

3 M has developed systems of measurement and reward tolerating errors and promoting achievement. 3 M rewards successful innovators in a variety of ways: the Carlton Society, named after former president of the business Richard P. Carlton, honors top 3 M researchers who create innovative new products and add to the innovation culture of the company, and the Golden Step is a cash prize. 3 M also has a wealthy tradition of telling tales of renowned mistakes that eventually produced breakthrough products, such as the weak adhesive that inspired Post-It notes, to guarantee a culture that remains innovative and risks failure for unexpected reward.

3M pursues sustained innovation,3 M promotes an innovation culture that enables long-term inner value creation to be sustained. It encourages cross-pollination of thoughts, with technical employees considered to be part of not only laboratories or company divisions, but also the worldwide technical community. Employees are motivated to move across borders, and most senior executives have worked in the company's at least five distinct fields. An unofficial mentor network promotes knowledge transfer and helps to perpetuate the culture. One way to harness the value of relationships and networks is to use A.T. Kearney's Connectional Intelligence.This approach can dramatically improve an organization’s ability to marshal resources and knowledge quickly to influence change, solve complex challenges, streamline operations, and develop leaders.