Two, 3M's corporate culture and management philosophy
(a) cultivate the dedication of the entrepreneurial spirit and "innovation fighters"
3M's corporate culture is the most distinctive feature of the company's corporate culture is the company to implement the dedication of the entrepreneurial spirit and the cultivation of "" innovation fighters "corporate strategy. Innovation Fighter" corporate strategy, under the guidance of this corporate philosophy, vigorously carry out diversified business strategy, it is engaged in a number of industries, including adhesive tapes and their related products (including Scotch Tape) for the largest, accounting for 17% of the amount of its business, other business projects include printing systems, abrasives, adhesives, construction materials, chemicals, protective drugs, photographic products, printing, and other business projects. Other business items include printing systems, abrasives, adhesives, construction materials, chemicals, protection drugs, photographic products, printing products, recording equipment, electrical products, health care drugs and so on. Despite the diversification strategy, 3M is still mainly driven by chemical engineers, focusing on the development of coating and bonding industrial technology, but this does not mean that they will only develop ordinary and featureless products. 3M has introduced new products in the past two years, including a sunscreen lotion for swimming protection, a special stitcher that speeds up surgeons' ability to close wounds, a special lithographic film that doesn't require the addition of costly silver, and an agent that can inhibit the growth of weeds, according to the magazine.
3M in the implementation of corporate culture and entrepreneurial spirit of cultivation, and strive to cultivate an important concept of staff, that is, "enthusiasm, dedication" of the entrepreneurial spirit, the company's decision-making level, the cultivation of enthusiasm and dedication of the entrepreneurial spirit of the company's employees to engage in any work is necessary, take the development of new products, there is no enthusiasm, dedication to the spirit of enterprise, the company's new Take new product development as an example, without the enterprise spirit of enthusiasm and dedication, the company's new product development could not have such success today. Fortune Star Magazine has commented on this concept as follows: "The most gratifying thing for 3M is that everyone in the company can treat the product as their own business when they develop new products, or when they successfully push products into the market that others have no confidence in, or when they figure out how to mass-produce and reduce costs, and most of the supervisors let them go and let them do so. " 3M attaches great importance to building a support system for "innovation fighters", and the company's managers become "protectors" of innovators. Because of the company's long tradition of innovation, supervisors themselves must have experienced the process of inventing new products, such as strange style, not according to the rules of the game, was blocked, keen to bury their heads in the work of a particular invention, may have been there for more than 10 years to their favorite invention. But now, as a supervisor, sitting there, responsible for protecting the younger generation of "innovation fighters", so that they are free from the interference of the company's staff to venture, and in due course, these interferences out of the "innovation fighters" shelter nest. In 3M, the director in order to protect the young "innovation fighter", often come to a corporate culture education class, while encouraging innovators, criticizing the interferers, for the innovators to open up innovative pathways, create a good atmosphere for innovation. "The captain that poor raps will not rest until his tongue bleeds." This is used by the Navy to describe the first time a young military court pilot commanded a large ship into the harbor; however, in 3M, it is used to describe the important task of the supervisor to the development of new products to the younger generation of the process of painstakingly. At 3M, the "Fighter Supervisor" is not a "top boss", but rather a person hired to utilize his patience and skills to develop a new generation of innovation fighters. The "new ventureteam" is the basic unit of 3M's support system. This innovation project team has three important characteristics, namely, by a variety of professionals full **** with the participation of the indefinite task; all volunteers; with considerable autonomy.
An innovation team must include at least technicians, manufacturing, marketing, business, or financial personnel, and all of them must be full-time.3M's decision makers understand that under this system, some members may not be immediately useful, resulting in a waste of talent. For example, in the initial stage of development, only about 1/3 of the manufacturing staff, but 3M seems to be willing to pay this price, so that the staff focus on consistency and enthusiasm for the work. Their argument is that the only way to motivate employees to stay focused on a task is to assign them a full-time job. 3M's other method of stimulating employee loyalty is to have innovation teams made up entirely of volunteers. One 3M executive said, "Team members are recruited, not assigned. There's a big difference, for example, if I'm a marketer and I'm assigned to evaluate a technician's idea, in most companies I usually just ask him to pick out all the flaws. Then I say the idea sucks and I get out of it. ...... But if I had volunteered to work on the panel, that wouldn't have happened." Finally, 3M makes a point of ensuring that innovation teams have considerable autonomy and job security. The company stipulated that group members could not be disbanded before the launch of a new product. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology research 3M company has 20 years of Roberts (Edward Roberts) pointed out that the 3M company said to the group of staff: "Our commitment to you is to the whole group of members as a unit, to you to meet the company's assessment of the performance of the required standards, the company will allow you to enter the market with the new product, step by step, with the new product sales growth, access to desirable product sales performance grows, get the profits you deserve, in case you fail, we also have a back-up remedial system, and that is guaranteed to be a way to get you back to the same position you were in before you joined the group."
To ensure that 3M fosters an entrepreneurial spirit of dedication and a system of "innovation fighters," 3M has implemented a system of rewards that encourages both the group as a whole and the individual. When their product development programs overcome obstacles and achieve success, each member of the group will be promoted, so the innovation champions will naturally benefit greatly. So what is the outlook for the career of a successful innovation team member at 3M? Robles made the following description: "In 3M, a person as long as the development of new product innovation, he is in the company's position level and pay commission category, naturally, with the business growth of the product and change, for example, he may start out as a production line engineers, receive the highest level of the position or the lowest salary, once his product into the market, it can be promoted to a new position. Once his product hits the market, he can be promoted to 'product engineer'. When product sales reach $1 million per year, the product becomes 'fully qualified' and his title and pay grade change significantly. By the time the product crosses the $5 million sales mark, he can be the 'Engineering Manager' for the entire product line. If the product further breaks the 20 million dollar mark, it can be upgraded to a separate product department, and if he is the main technical person developing the product, he will naturally become the department's 'engineering manager' or 'director of research and development.' "
If you want to get a deeper understanding of how 3M energizes the enterprise within the company, it's best to start with the company's "values," especially its "Eleventh Commandment: Don't kill any new ideas." A company may be slow to get started or may not allow an innovation team to be formed, but it will never shoot the creator of a new idea in the foot. To further understand how 3M fosters corporate values throughout the company, one can look at the experiences of each of 3M's senior executives. The company's previous chairmen and several key decision makers have a history of popular and successful inventions, and the top executives throughout 3M are models for younger generations to emulate. Those who wish to become innovative young people, often from the deeds of these predecessors to get inspiration and encouragement, Drew and Borden's invention process, is a typical example of the company's younger generation, often inspirational. According to the current chairman of the board of directors, Mr. Lear, "When our salesmen went to the automobile factory for a routine inspection, they noticed that the workers were painting a new type of two-color automobile because the two types of paints always flowed into one piece, and they were at a loss as to what to do about it. A young technician in the lab named Drew developed a strong tape that could cover the parts that didn't need to be painted, which not only solved the problem for the automobile painters, but also led to the invention of the first paper tape product for 3M. By 1930, six years after DuPont introduced cellophane, Drew developed a way to apply adhesive to cellophane, and that's how clear tape was born. At first, however, it was only used on industrial packaging, and it wasn't until a 3M business manager, Borden, invented a roll with a paper cutter blade device inside that clear tape really began to spread and become widely used in offices." This representative short story reflects the typical style of 3M and has important implications: 1) the close relationship between business and customer interaction. 2) It also shows that technicians are not the only ones who can invent new products. 3) For 3M, any new product development program has unlimited market potential.
(2) 3M's corporate values of not fearing failure and encouraging innovation
3M has always had a corporate tradition of encouraging innovation and not fearing failure, and for those who succeeded, they gave heroic hospitality, and for those who failed, they gave encouragement as usual.
Innovation fighters once the invention is successful, will immediately be subject to 3M hero-style hospitality. Lear proudly pointed out that "every year there will be more than 15 to 20 market optimistic new products, breaking through the million dollar sales mark. You might think this wouldn't get much attention at 3M, but you'd be wrong. This is when the limelight, the bells, the video cameras, all come out to enthusiastically recognize the achievements of this corporate vanguard." It was with this encouragement that 3M's young engineers bravely ventured out of their ivory towers with new ideas. In 3M's values, almost any new product idea is acceptable. Even though the company's focus was on the varnish and masonry industries, it did not exclude new products from other categories. Robles observes, "As long as a product idea meets the company's financial measurements, such as sales growth, profits, etc., 3M is happy to accept it, whether or not it falls within the company's primary industry." Moreover, at 3M, failures are encouraged - where there's a will, there's a way - and the company's decision makers encourage employees to do just that. Chairman Lear often uses past examples to encourage employees, do not be afraid of failure, even if the failure should not be discouraged, should play the spirit of entrepreneurial struggle, he said: "In 3M, you engage in scientific research and development have the freedom to persevere to the end, that is, it means that there is no fear of making mistakes, the freedom to not be afraid of failure." Undaunted and persevering to the end, there will be a day of success in 3M. A 3M executive pointed out: "We don't just kill new ideas, but sometimes it's inevitable that some of them will be knocked askew. After all, we're betting on people. Sometimes you have to stop a product program that hasn't yet succeeded if you don't have to. But that's how you force the truly fanatical inventor to do whatever it takes to make his product program work. "
At first glance, this seems to be a very contradictory approach: on the one hand, very supportive of the development of any potential product idea; on the other hand, never casually over-invest in it, because 3M is, after all, a very pragmatic company. Their typical approach is usually like this: If an innovation champion's product idea has progressed from the theoretical stage to the formative stage, they can start organizing an innovation team. They can begin to organize the innovation team, usually five or six people in a group. But the development of the plan to the halfway point, suddenly encountered unexpected difficulties, then 3M will quickly cancel the development of this plan, however, the innovation fighter is really very enthusiastic about this plan, the company not only will not oppose, but will encourage him to find a partner alone or spend energy to continue to adhere to the 3M company has found that, by and large, a new product to be after ten years later, the market will be the real acceptance of it, so, in the meantime, it will be the first time for the company to develop a new product. 3M found that, by and large, it takes ten years for a new product to be truly accepted by the market, so the innovation champion at the top of the list must experience some boom and bust until finally, the market matures and the time finally comes to rebuild his innovation and begin to make a name for himself. 3M was the first company to view product innovation as a numbers game. The vice president in charge of the research and development department of the Adams (Robert M. Adams) said the attitude held by 3M: "Our company's style is to do a little, sell a little, and then develop a little further." One of his colleagues further explained 3M's strategy by saying, "Start small and work toward a big goal. Invest the right amount of capital, take the knowledge and technology needed to go further, increase profits, and conduct countless small experiments over a very short period of time. A new development is a series of strikes convergence, as long as it is possible to develop into a large, profitable product, the program will never be unnecessarily interfered with, any new idea has unlimited potential for development." Therefore, in the 3M company, can be seen everywhere, "innovation fighters," where one by one to test, but most have suffered the fate of failure, a small part of the slight gain, and finally there are always a few through the test finally succeeded.
Anyone who wants to organize an innovative group of fighters, physics experts or microcomputer experts, 3M are happy to provide research funds for their use. And in St. Paul, the well-equipped head office is an excellent laboratory in itself, and their ability to quickly turn a few ideas into several new products on the market is amazing. Moreover, the user (customer) is involved in the entire new product development process from start to finish. What's even more amazing is that each 3M new product development program is very short, averaging about five pages. However, a 3M vice president was not impressed, saying: "You are completely wrong about this for 3M, in most companies, the new product proposal is usually at least 200 pages or more, in 3M, the first time you make a new product proposal, just use a well-organized sentence on the line." The vice president went on to say, "In the early stages of development, we don't waste time and energy needlessly on planning for things where everything is still a matter of life and death. Of course we have to have a plan, such as a sophisticated and detailed sales implementation plan, but we must do these detailed plans only after the research has been developed to a considerable degree and there is some clarity. Why should we spend our time writing up 250 pages of plans at the beginning, before we've done some simple experiments based on customer needs?" In the same vein, another 3M executive said, "Experience has taught us that we really can't accurately predict how much sales growth a new product will have before it hits the market, so we now do our sales forecasts after the product is on the market." In commenting on 3M's organizational structure, Rob said that if you look at it in theory alone, there doesn't seem to be anything unique about 3M's organizational structure. One 3M executive went so far as to say, in even stronger terms, "The formality of the organizational structure is not even relevant to us." That said, there are still a few important features of 3M's organizational structure, which has always been decentralized and autonomous, with 25 divisions 10 years ago and 40 divisions today, with new divisions continuing to be created. Instead of focusing on pursuing business growth in a single division, 3M prefers to take a decentralized approach, which has always been the path to success for 3M. In addition, in 3M if a department of product development team of staff to put forward a new idea, the normal way is to apply to the immediate supervisor of the development fund, if the supervisor's refusal, then 3M can be through the relevant rules and regulations of the enterprise and corporate culture manual in the provisions of the relevant provisions of the relevant provisions of the department, to another application, if it is once again ate the door, but also can turn to other departments to apply! He may be in the Viscose development team, but he can go around to other product departments and sell his new idea as much as he wants. Even if he is still getting nowhere, and is almost at the end of his tether, 3M has a supreme tribunal, the "Innovation Business Development Department", where they can make a final appeal. Often, it's here that the final verdict is reached on the really, really special research proposals.
Three comments
1. Why is this approach so successful at 3M? It is very simple, 3M company to use a variety of incentives to encourage the principal to do so, any innovation group planner, as long as he can get external funds to support the group's research and development, he will get a considerable reimbursement incentives. This provision is also applied equally effectively among department heads. In addition, at 3M, there are many direct incentives to look for opportunities to sell your ideas or to maximize opportunities to explore new ideas. In keeping with this system, 3M is very flexible in terms of personnel transfers. For example, if a staff member in Team A has an idea that is taken up by a line manager in Team B, then that staff member can move to Team B with his idea. There are other related rules, such as the 3M company stipulates that each department's sales of new products in the last five years, at least 25% of the department's total turnover. Usually such a business goal, in other companies, is based on the whole company, but in fact, this kind of goal can be achieved in the lower and middle levels of the enterprise departments. Therefore, 3M has always required each department to meet this goal, forcing 40 department heads to compete to develop and research new products.
2. One of the most important concepts in 3M's corporate culture, and one that the company has emphasized time and time again, is that of wholeness and systematicity, and that the company's success is never based on just one or two factors. Of course, there is no denying that innovation fighters, fighters' supervisors, and the innovation team are the center of gravity of the entire innovation process. However, the reason why they can be successful, mainly because there are many heroes from all aspects of support, the company's value system support, have tolerance for failure of the temperament, to penetrate the special market strategy, close customer relations, from small to large development and research methods, flexible company personnel organization, without too much paper work and red tape, fierce internal competition, a combination of these factors, after years of To together *** with the role of the 3M company to make this innovative product strategy can have today's so outstandingly successful performance.
3. There is a positive, innovative, the pursuit of success in the corporate environment there is also a major feature, that is, there is a tolerance for failure of the magnanimity of grace. 3M's corporate culture, one of the creed is: "You must accept failure." Knight of Emerson also emphasized, "You need to have the ability to accept failure. You can't have any innovation, any breakthrough, unless you're willing to accept mistakes." The spirit of tolerance for failure has become one of the connotations of the spirit of outstanding companies. 3M's essence of this corporate culture is directly inculcated and cultivated by the company's senior management, and this spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation fighters implies that companies must go through countless experiments and suffer many failures in their innovations; otherwise, they will not be able to learn something new from their failures, but the most noteworthy thing is that: regular communication can minimize the blow and punishment brought about by failures, and minimize the impact of failures. The most noteworthy thing, however, is that regular communication minimizes the blowback and penalties associated with failure. The most serious failures, the ones that really leave scars, are usually the result of letting a program go on for years without careful and clear guidance and communication. But in the open communication environment of an outstanding company, where supervisors and subordinates and coworkers communicate openly and honestly with each other, you can't hide anything, and there's really no need to do so. Therefore, there are a lot of support systems for innovation fighters, and there is no shortage of ways to support them. Innovation fighters do not come naturally, the so-called heroes of the times, there must be the right environment to cultivate, such as the company's traditional spirit, multi-faceted support system, tolerance for failure, etc., to encourage the cultivation of this batch of unremitting innovation fighters, and not just limited to a few creative wizards.