The Evolution of the NZ Steel Industry: Innovation dinosaur or drosophila?
“Apple hasn’t so much invented new as they have innovated (to converge technologies into well-built and -designed packages).” David Reiss, Spark Digital. Dr Troy Coyle, Manager of Innovation & Product Development at NZ Steel. We have an image problem. In experimental evolution, Drosophila (the humble fruit fly) is often used to demonstrate evolutionary processes. It is used because genetic changes for the fruit fly can be observed very quickly in response to natural selection. In business, the equivalent of the fruit fly is the IT or information technology company, such as Xero or the Wynyard Group. IT companies form the bulk of case studies in management texts and innovation case studies because they are quick to respond to changing market conditions, and also quick to demonstrate these changes in the market. They are perfect examples of rapid innovation. In contrast, the steel industry is perceived to be traditional, slow to innovate and slow to respond to changing market conditions. We’re not rolled out as case studies for innovation and we are often relegated to the categories of at worst ploddingly ‘low-tech’, or at best masters of ‘incremental innovation’. We’re not attractive for Government funding either because we aren’t exciting in terms of being able to demonstrate rapid change, hi-tech outcomes or capturing public imagination. In other words, we’re “innovation dinosaurs”. The most public excitement we generate is speculation on whether or not we will die out or find a way to survive in the new world. There is no doubt that the world is changing and so we need to adapt and quickly. However, we are not going to turn into hi-tech, fast innovating firms any time soon. The question is how do we show the world we are adapting in a way that is meaningful and be excited about […]