The ability of R&D to contribute to revenue growth is crucial to its reputation as a trusted and valued business partner for the rest of the company. This reputation is reflected in the relevance of R&D to the organization and in its influence in getting resources and shaping strategic decisions. This influence is found in many subtle and not-so-subtle signals⁺: having access to the ear of the CEO, budgeting decisions, levels of scrutiny, pressures for alternate sources of research, numbers of end runs around the R&D ‘establishment’, etc.

It is in the interest of all parties for R&D to maintain and enhance its brand. R&D management is in the best position to arbitrate across conflicting priorities under conditions of uncertainty. And much innovative R&D is conducted in areas that are highly uncertain in terms of their potential commercialization⁺. Should the R&D brand erode major R&D decisions will transfer to individuals less able to appreciate the complexities of the endeavor. The whole company suffers; albeit over a period of many years or decades.

World Class R&D is a branding proposition. This is a management website, dedicated to world class management of the R&D investment. Branding is in the eyes of the rest of the company. R&D management must show that it has a handle on an activity that is highly uncertain, even unpredictable. Both the complexity and the management of that complexity must be understood by the rest of the organization. In the final tally, the brand is protected through results. R&D management must buy itself time needed to achieve those results.

Persistence means inevitable, but not on a predictable schedule. They are subject to discontinuous discovery⁺. Under conditions of discontinuous discovery, success is neither predictable nor estimable. It’s not deterministic nor stochastic⁺: it’s not a numbers game. Pursuit of twenty or even 100 great ideas means nothing towards the success rate. Too many pursuits and you reduce chances for success by distracting researchers with reports, tracking and other administrivia. Discontinuous discovery has analogies to the idea of the ten-year flood. Just because you had one yesterday, doesn’t mean you can’t have the next one tomorrow, or twenty years from now. 

This is an optimistic persistence not a desperate one. We persist in our belief that blockbuster pursuits are attainable, but we don’t cling in desperation to any one pursuit. We don’t go too far down the wrong path (‘the easy path’) when we find it’s taking us away from our goal. We know there are many wrong paths – these are there to steer the weak astray. Only individuals in a World Class R&D organization have the persistence (and financial support) to push through to the final goal.

You can only generate an intense passion across the corporation, in both R&D and commercial, by going for the gold. For purposes of World Class R&D we’re going to talk about R&D effectiveness in terms of blockbuster potential products. Sure there'll be a lot of other R&D work going on to launch sub-blockbuster⁺ products, and we’ll need these to keep the lights on, but our overall R&D effectiveness is measured in blockbusters. Think about any industry. Big movie producers don’t get known for their also-rans. The same is true for new products in the financial industry, the consulting industry or any industry built on the passions and excitement of the staff: this train’s bound for glory and I want to be on it!

We push the boundaries on customer demand with our innovative capabilities, or we meet unsatisfied customer demand with our existing capabilities. World Class R&D involves a constant search to identify and mold customer views on how much they should desire and spend for our products and services. World Class R&D then rises to the challenge of satisfying those desires. A commercial focus is integral to the success of a World Class R&D organization. Commercial professionals know the customers intimately and provide insights into the wants and needs of these customers to guide R&D operations. In World Class R&D operations, new product development is part and parcel of R&D. We strive for ‘one mind’ that looks across the technical possibilities for new products using the eyes (and wallets) of future customers.

They juggle the need to launch near term (routine) sub-blockbuster products with the long term hunt for (exciting) blockbuster products. They juggle investments in future technical or professional capabilities with the need to extract value from current capabilities. They juggle the ‘itch’ to do exciting new research, with the ‘scratch’ of sloughing through the routine tasks of product development. There is never one answer - each day the ball is in one hand or the other, and sometimes it’s in the air.

They routinely seek out opportunities to capture the imagination of their best players for pursuits that meet the financial needs of the corporation. World Class R&D operations develop a reputation for being World Class in their base technologies and professional capabilities, and thereby attract the best professionals. They recognize you don’t get to be the best by merely doing the routine. Imagination is the key ingredient for R&D operations - imagine all you can accomplish being the best in the world, and imagine how you can even be better.