Embedded Technology Journal Update

a techfocus media publication :: May 2, 2006 :: volume III, no. 05

FROM THE EDITOR

This week, we’re thrilled to bring you one-on-ones with the CEOs of three highly innovative EDA companies - each offering a different view on stimulating product innovation in established high-tech organizations. In our Innovation Big and Small part two, we look at the risk takers and the rule breakers in larger high-tech companies, and how three visionary leaders seek to harness rather than suppress the chaos that creative thinking can bring to an established engineering organization.

Thanks for reading! If there's anything we can do to make our publications more useful to you, please let us know at: comments@embeddedtechjournal.com

Kevin Morris – Editor
Embedded Technology Journal

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CURRENT FEATURE ARTICLES

Innovation Big and Small - Chapter 2
Bucking the Trend
Innovation Big and Small - Chapter 1
The Adventures of Chuck & Roger
Death of the Hardware Engineer
A Dirge for the Digital Designer
ESC Revisited
Connecting Dots in the Chaos
Parallelizing PCB
Mentor's Multi-node Router Goes Auto
ESC Round One
Cool and Groovy Galore

JOURNAL WEBCASTS

JOURNAL WEBCASTS NOW ON DEMAND:

"Designing 2Gbps Parallel I/O with the LatticeSC FPGA" sponsored by Lattice Semiconductor
Click here to watch!

Lattice's new 90nm LatticeSC family--general introduction, sponsored by Lattice Semiconductor.
Click here to watch!

Innovation Big and Small - Chapter 2
Bucking the Trend

Last week, we left our heroes in the throes and woes of the corporate cultural contamination of the innovation that drives growth, success and stability in today's high-technology companies. We discussed how innovation in startup companies is the norm. Fueled by life-changing potential rewards, focused by unity of purpose, and unencumbered by corporate policies, procedures, and red tape, startups are clearly the creative engines powering modern technology evolution.

The larger company, however, faces a situation where they can fall victim to the spoils of their own success. Once upon a time, they too were focused, fast-reacting, hard-driving startups. At some point, however, they probably made a major score with a successful product line that propelled them into the big leagues. With that membership card comes a bloat of baggage – support for existing product lines, protection of previously captured market territory, more employees to water and feed, reputations to protect, policies to follow, and legal hurdles to clear. The innovation balance can tip wildly away from their side.

For many large companies, the tendency is to give up on true internal innovation. These companies simply watch for new markets to emerge, monitor the latest crop of startups, and scramble to be the highest bidder when a good technology goes on the auction block. Over time, these companies devolve from their former innovative incarnations into simple commodity traders, speculating on technology futures and buying and selling equities to maintain technology portfolios that they can distribute through their well-oiled sales and marketing channels. [more]