Where Do Ideas Come From? Create A Culture That Fosters Good Ideas

By Trisha Gladd, Editor, Life Science Connect

Tom McDaniel, president of the pharma product division at Bosch North America

Christian Treitel, director of BD and product mgmt of the pharma product division at Bosch Packaging Technology

During a trip to the ISPE Biotechnology Symposium, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by a Nobel Laureate who explored the topic, “Where Do Ideas Come From?” It was fascinating to hear him describe how a childhood memory evolved into one of his greatest discoveries, and it inspired me to think about where other people, specifically those in the pharmaceutical industry, get their ideas. We live in a fast-paced world driven by technology and competition, but in order to really stay ahead, we have to be able to slow down and think. We have to allow our minds the time to create good ideas. So how do we do this? I asked myself the question he asked his audience that day – where do good ideas come from?

To find the answer, I spoke to various experts within the pharmaceutical industry who stood out to me as innovative thinkers who approached problems in a creative way. The result is a Pharmaceutical Online series that will look at how those within the industry — both individuals and companies — can foster innovation and creative thinking in order to encourage innovation.

Establish A Foundation For Innovation

For part one of this series, I spoke with Tom McDaniel, president of the pharmaceuticals product division at Bosch North America, and Christian Treitel, director of business development and product management of the pharmaceuticals product division at Bosch Packaging Technology, about how to cultivate the seeds of innovation within an organization. For McDaniel and Treitel, it starts with establishing a culture that dates back to their company’s founder, Robert Bosch.

Bosch was a true innovator because he encouraged those in his company to approach problems with a principle of continuous improvement. He knew that in order to stay ahead, it’s important to always be thinking about where you’re going. Bosch’s history of stepping outside of the box and coming up with several groundbreaking inventions is what earned him the reputation of being one of the world’s most famous visionaries. “Robert Bosch established core values for the company that still exist today, and one of them is a focus on development,” says McDaniel. “As the company has grown, that core value of continuing to research and develop has remained. We invest a tremendous amount of resources into central research, and we’re always looking for ways to simplify through new technology.” Treitel adds, “We have to be innovative because there is a life cycle of products. We know that we can't grow if we continue to do the same thing, so we need to be innovative and look for new ideas.”

Focus On The Future

So how are good ideas created at Bosch? As many in the business world know, talking to customers is vital. However, it’s the when and the why Bosch talks to its customers that is key. “We believe our product managers must be spending at least 30 to 40 percent of their time out in the market talking to customers and trying to understand their needs. We also want to do this at a very early stage when the customers are developing their own ideas,” explains Treitel. “Our goal is to talk to the business developers, so we can gain an understanding of what they want to achieve in five years because then we really know what they are thinking and what their future plans and demands are. Then we can drive the innovation they need to move to the next step." McDaniel adds that while some projects may be very standard in nature, it’s the customer’s vision of the future that inspires them to take a project one step further into the customized solution Bosch is known for.

Don’t Judge Too Early

Treitel says the culture of pioneering within the Bosch organization is one that encourages and embraces all ideas, and it’s important to not pass judgment on any idea before it’s been funneled to the appropriate department and evaluated. While not every idea is always a good one, applying skepticism early can alienate people and discourage them. Also, when an idea is not used, tell the person why. “Explain your decisions. Honesty is very important,” says Treitel. “It’s not uncommon to gather 50 ideas but end up with only 3 or 4 that can be used, and the really innovative people understand that.” 

Verify With Other Experts

Once an idea is funneled to the appropriate department, Treitel says it must be verified with external sources. “We need to talk to industry experts and go to shows and seminars in order to understand if an idea is valid,” explains Treitel. “If we don’t challenge it with external sources, we could be running in the wrong direction.”

True innovators know that in order to be successful, you can’t be afraid to fail. The biggest hurdle a person can face is letting the fear of failure stop them from pursuing something great. And when serving an industry like the pharmaceutical industry that is in such high demand of new innovations, those that step outside of the box, like Robert Bosch, are often the ones that step into the spotlight.