[waiquoo]

The problem is lack of constraint. You can build anything, but where does it fit in the world? That transition from derisked, innovative technology to useful product is particularly difficult and typically involves a handoff between two separate groups of people. Does the receiving group need or want an innovation? How well did the innovation group prep the technology for handoff? Was the innovation pulled through development by demand or was it pushed by the inventors? These are not trivial problems and any innovation shop like X is necessarily going to carry a lot of risk. You really only see that kind of innovation focus in organizations that can handle the risk (cash flow sufficient to recover from continuous failure from the innovation department). My (biased) opinion is that it is worthwhile to have innovation focused groups in your company, but management needs to be realistic about risk.

[source]: several years leading a design engineering R&D group

[ssivark]

I have some follow-up questions I’d love to discuss one-on-one given your background; is there a way I might reach out to you?

If you don’t want to post contact details publicly (couldn’t find any on your user profile), you’re welcome to poke me instead (details on my profile).