I met Thomas Mathiasen at a Connect Denmark event and I peppered him with questions about being an independent consultant.  He also agreed to do a Skype chat with me and we spoke about his role as an innovation consultant. (Sept. 2008)

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Denmark’s first Innovation Manager, working with startups, the value of IPR

Alex Farcet (Q):  What is your background, and what is TM-Innovation?

Thomas Mathiasen (A):  I have a MSc in Chemical Engineering and I worked for years as a researcher in industry and as an assistant professor at DTU [Danish Technical University]. I then found out that what I had been doing was something called innovation. And I was given the first title in Denmark as Innovation Manager (at FOSS, who develops and sell analysis instrumentation for the Food industry).

I became involved in innovation in quite many companies, and then formed my own consultancy because I rather like to work with innovation at many companies. The challenges always differ and that I like.

TM-Innovation focuses on creating ideas and knowledge for customers. Danish Intellectual Capital Management (DICM) is my other consultancy and focuses on creating value from ideas and knowledge, for customers.

(Q):  I see you are accredited as an ‘IP Auditor’ by the Danish PTO – what is the PTO and what is an IP Auditor?

(A):  Patent Trade Organisation. IP auditor audits the IP processes in a company and helps the company improve on the processes. On can do that on innovation also. Then it´s an Innovation Audit (you never guessed!)

(Q):  Innovation is such an overused word, how do you define it?

(A):  Fantasy is getting ideas; creativity is getting ideas that are applicable; innovation is getting the ideas carried out in reality. From a business perspective, that is of course to get it into value (read: money), either as a process or a product or a service. Innovation may be overused, however, I feel that is necessary in order to get even top management to accept the concept. They seldom jump into the new but want proven concepts and ideas to use.

(Q):  You work with large companies and startups, what’s the difference?

(A):  Large companies have the money to pay for my services. And they want either new products or to develop new business. Startups don’t gave any money and want help in defining the business; to chose and focus on the most favourable activites.

And startups are normally driven by eager entrepreneurs and that is inspiring. For me at least.

(Q):  What do you specifically contribute to a young startup?

(A):  Could be:
a) A strategy map that defines and describes opportunities, roads that may be followed.
b) A strategy for developing and harvesting the value of the intangibles of the company. Most modern companies’ value is built on intangibles and not on buildings, machinery etc.
c) A focused product development toward getting the product to the right market to the right time.

(Q):  How do startups compensate you?

(A):  Mostly poorly. That is one reason why startups are more for ´giving back´ to society for me, than a living.

(Q):  I know what you mean!  What about ‘sweat equity’ – that is, getting some equity with future potential value?

(A):  Never used it. Then you have to put much more work into the company, and wait for the compensation.

(Q):  Startups are told to focus on IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and that seems to imply ‘get a lawyer to protect your idea’.  You work with IP Capital Management, which goes beyond, how?

(A):  Defining, among other things, how to optimally get value out of the IP. e.g. to suggest which ideas to protect by patents, trademarks, agreements. And how to think through how to utilize the IP when you have it formalized.

[pagebreak] Valuing IPR, India and brainstorming, and working with theater folk

(Q):  How is that different from what a lawyer can do?

(A):  The problem with protecting your idea is, which idea is really the value creating idea.
A lawyer will take care of the legal contract with the authorities, e.g. draft and file the patent (or trademart etc). That is an expertise and necessary. I will show the company the value creating actions. i.e. not to patent but go fastest to the market if that is the most favourable road to pursue.

(Q):  I’ve seen software startups, in particular, be told ‘you have to patent this if you want to raise money’ but everyone seems to know that it’s very difficult (or expensive) to protect code.  What’s your view?

(A):  Lets take the wording ´expensive´first. For me, a patent is an investment that should give a positive ROI [Return On Investment], that is the focus of my work. If it is needed, one has to invest and that costs. Yes, SW [Software] patents are a tricky thing and companies should involve an expert in SW patenting. Skype did that.
A patent is not a right to utilise your idea but a right to deny others the right to use it.

(Q):  Does innovation only have to do with technology?  Have you worked with a non-technological company on innovation – for example an ad agency?

(A):  Innovation goes with anything. I have done innovation for theater folks, among others.

(Q):  Can you expand on that?

(A):  Well, I did a training in creative processes for the Theaters chool. Actors are very much different from engineers. Very creative, but still have a need for the disciplined processes an innovation coach has in the tool-box for securing a result in the end. I focus on innovation processes. I do not have to be an expert in the actual application. So, to facilitate a process at a theater, for a top-management to make a new business strategy or for a PD [Product Development] department to make a road-map for a new product or a new technology does not make any difference for me.
What I particularly like is to get in where the customers haven’t got a clue to what they have to do to solve the problem or where to go.

(Q):  Can you train an individual to be more innovative?

(A):  Yes, I do that. But training and teaching is not my focus area. Others excel in that.  But innovation has nothing to do with personal competence. Anyone can learn that.

(Q):  Can you tell me about one technique/tool to enhance innovation?

(A):  One simple technique in problem solving is to use yellow stickers to jot down ideas around the problem. Then group the ideas, then see if a pattern emerge that gives both a better definition of the problem (50% of all problems are solved when one defines the problem correctly); or if the pattern gives a possible new concept or solution that one can carry out. The method works both for personal problem and business challenges, for individuals and for groups.
Most people / groups tend to stick to the obvious and do not lift their eyes for new angles to problems. This method improves on that.

(Q):  Have you worked outside Denmark – with Asians, for example – and do you approach that differently?

(A):  Yes I have. Same approach, other than to respect cultural differences. I particularly like to work with Chinese and Japanese. They have a wonderful sense of humour.
Indians in fact invented the first creative tools. The Brahmins invented brainstorming methods approximately 1000 years ago. You can pursue that on the internet. Quite interesting in fact. Presently, the Indian Institute of Design is one of the sites where they excel in design and innovation. They work closely together with the Indian Space Agency located nearby. Quite cool.

(Q):  How do you tackle innovation if you’re the CEO of a very large company, i.e. the new top guy at B&O?

(A):  The role of top management is to support, back up initiatives of innovation from the employees. Innovation cannot be controlled from top management, but can be stimulated, initiated, asked for. Top management can secure that creativity and innovation are allowed, can secure that the competencies are present. Allow projects and ideas to fail. The easiest thing to do is to kill off any creativity and innovation.
Innovation in a company is a mixture of creating the right culture and getting the right processes. A company cannot survive on the hope that the right idea accidently appears, but need a focused and streamlined process to acquire both the ideas and the implementation, i.e. the innovation

(Q):  Doesn’t culture (at a societal level) impact this significantly? How failure is perceived for example.

(A):  Yes, culture does have an impact. And this culture is exactly what top management should nurture.

(Q):  What do you think when you hear politicians say ‘Denmark must focus on innovation’?  Can politicians (through the education system, regulations, etc.) influence how innovative a country is?

(A):  Yes, they can set up the framework and make innovation acceptable. For example for business managers, e.g. the Danish government’s initiative on Innovation at the Globalization meeting definitely went that way.
Top management and politicians can say the right words, the employees and citizens will do the actual job

Thomas, thank you very much.