Dean Kamen on Risk-Taking and Innovation
CIO:
Best known for inventing the Segway electric scooter, Dean Kamen believes in the power of innovation to change the world. Here are his thoughts on “5 Things I’ve Learnedâ€?.
Taking risks is essential. I quit school at a time when no one quit school and started a company in a basement with no money. I discovered that I’m a risk taker. I get up in the morning knowing that I’m either going to have a spectacular win or loss that is going to be exciting. The future is the world of ideas. Innovation and creativity will be the only serious metrics to sustain us as a world-class country. Hype is the enemy of innovation. There was a ridiculous amount of press coverage related to the Segway. I knew the hype around what the invention could do would be problematic. I knew it wouldn’t be able to do what people expected it to do right away. Outsourcing is practical and necessary. This country has always outsourced things. As an entrepreneur I’ve learned that we stand on the shoulders of the generation before us and grab the next rail, provided that we’re the best educated, ambitious and courageous. Innovation comes in many shapes. We have two classes of projects at DEKA. Most people here would affectionately call one of those groups “Dean’s Crazy Ideas.� Those projects tend to be high risk—nobody knows whether they’re doable. I’ve learned from these projects that sometimes we must stumble around in the garden of new ideas to find a better way to solve a problem. But we also work on well-defined problems where we’ve got a good solution and need an innovative way to make it work. In my experience, you have to strike a balance between the two. Photo by makezine.
Eduardo on April 11th, 2007 9:19 am
People like Dean Kamen and others who are the great innovators in our world share one common attribute. They are great starters! While others are considering the pros and the cons they just start and keep playing with the concept until it either makes it or it doesn’t. The world needs more people who are starters!
Duane on April 11th, 2007 10:19 am
Ouch on “best known for the Segway.” Before the Segway, Kamen had something like 50 patents including an all-terrain wheelchair that enables the user to lift himself up to eye level with a standing person, and major advancements in dialysis. Don’t label him (I realize it’s a quote from CIO, not this blog) by the one invention of his where the hype got so far out of control. That’s not his legacy. Or at least, it darned well shouldn’t be.
Jack on April 11th, 2007 10:45 am
Eduardo is right. We need more starters. The amount of ideas I have knocking around at the moment, and have had flying around that never got anywhere, then went on to be something huge for another company are countless.
I agree to an extent with outsourcing. If you can’t do something yourself, get someone else who can to do it. BUT…as long as it doesn’t detract from the user/customer experience. Example - PKR. I love the idea of having 3D, fully controlable characters. BUT…they are limited with the number of tables, which meant I didn’t get a game, which meant I uninstalled the software…
Dane on April 11th, 2007 4:30 pm
I was going to comment on this story, but I wrote this post instead:
20 Things Not to Do Before Starting A Business
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