Ind. Eng. Chem. Prod. Res. Dev., Vol. 18, No. 2, 1979 85
EDITORIAL
Job Right or Right Job
In a world filled with people traveling comfortably down their assigned pathways it is all too easy to let what appears to be success blind our vision. George White and Margaret Graham in their recent Harvard Business Review article on Technological Winners (HBR March-April 1978, p 146) pose questions which test this seeming success and bear consideration by anyone involved in product oriented research and development. They propose that rather than merely reviewing whether researchers are doing the job right, that is, applying all available tools and resources to research objectives, more effort should be dedicated to whether researchers are doing the right job. This far more difficult review frequently places a manager in the position of turning off a project that is “perking along just fine,” but for one of a variety of reasons would not, even if satisfactorily completed, be compatible with successful company utilization. The further this project varies from existing company core strengths, the stricter should be research appraisal. To venture into market areas reasonably far afield requires potentially radical technical innovation, solidly grounded, and a reasonable assessment of how it can be incorporated into business practice. Although this type of analysis could be usefully applied to almost any field of endeavor, it is especially appropriate where product decisions are involved. Whether the innovation relates to transistors and their application to radio miniaturization or the prospects for supersonic transports, one must almost brutally question the quality of the basic invention, how effectively it is embodied into a product, the operational merit of this product to its ultimate user, and finally marketability and profitability. If any major questions remain unanswered in this sequence it is incumbent upon the prospective developer to deal with these “Chinks in the armour” before making a commitment toward implementation. By continually monitoring and assessing either proposed product research projects or ongoing efforts for their strategic merit and basic inventiveness quality one may be able to avoid pitfalls frequently encountered in attempting to separate winners from losers.
Allison Park, Pennsylvania
JEROME A. SEINER
