General Motors (GM) got a shout-out last week from the Patent Board, which just ranked GM as the number one global auto innovator. (You can see the scorecard on the Patent Board’s home page.) That might sound surprising given GM’s recent near-death experience — and that’s because the Patent Board pretty much only measures the issuance and scope of a company’s patents, which actually have relatively little to do with how innovative it actually is.
So set that aside. What really matters is that GM’s strategic application of innovation is starting to pick up again now that it’s passed through the valley of the shadow of death. The introduction of the Chevy Volt electric-vehicle is a prime example. The creation of an in-house venture capital arm to proactively nurture entrepreneurial auto technology is another. This is innovation investment that could yield major returns.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Sure, Go Forth and Innovate — but Don’t Forget to Put New Ideas to Work | BNET
Author: Matthew DeBord
