09/15/2023
Skunkworks and unauthorized side projects among R&D staff members over a long period show how difficult it is to stop innovators from innovating. 1 Take Tetsuya Mizoguchi, a manager in Toshiba's mainframe computing division, for example. Tetsuya believed there was a growing market for portable, light-weight PCs at a time when all of them were giant desktop computers. He went underground to create the first laptop computer after management rejected the concept, helping Toshiba establish itself as the market leader when the category was introduced in 1985. 2 Laptop sales currently outpace desktop sales by more than four to one.
Many R&D employees pursue underground side projects. Surfacing such innovations can reap benefits for their employers.