3M Company is a giant enterprise located in St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, in the midwestern United States. It not only has an enviable financial record, but most importantly, it has a unique management culture. Philosophy, with the help of this management culture and philosophy, the company has achieved world-renowned achievements in innovative products. 3M's outstanding performance in this aspect is no accident. Under the guidance of this set of corporate values, the company's diversified product development strategy has enabled this giant enterprise to innovate in every field, every link, and every aspect of corporate management. 3M's turnover in 1980 was as high as US$6.1 billion, ranking 51st among Fortune magazine's 500 large companies. It can be said to be the top "giant company": to date, 3M President has invented 50,000 new products, almost On average, more than 100 products are launched every year, with 40 product departments, and new product departments are established every year. With a turnover of US$6 billion, 3M’s net profit after tax is as high as US$678 million, ranking fifth on the Fortune 100 list, second only to Solilo, Kodak, and IBM. and American Home Products.

2. 3M’s corporate culture and management philosophy

(1) Cultivate a dedicated entrepreneurial spirit and “innovation warriors”

3M’s corporate culture is the largest The characteristics of the company are the entrepreneurial spirit of dedication and the corporate strategy of cultivating "innovation warriors" promoted by the company. Under the guidance of this corporate philosophy, it vigorously develops diversified business strategies. It is engaged in many industries, among which adhesive tape and its Related products (including Scotch Tape) are the largest, accounting for 17% of its sales. Other business items include printing systems, abrasives, adhesives, building materials, chemicals, protective drugs, photographic products, printing products, and recording. Equipment, electrical products, health care drugs, etc. Despite its diversification strategy, 3M is primarily driven by chemical engineers and focuses on the development of coating and bonding industrial technologies, but this does not mean that they will only develop ordinary, featureless products. Fortune magazine points out that new products introduced by 3M in the past two years include: sunscreen lotion for swimming protection, special suturing devices to speed up surgeons to close wounds, special lithographic film that does not require the addition of expensive silver elements, and Chemicals that inhibit the growth of weeds, etc.

In the implementation of corporate culture and entrepreneurial spirit cultivation, 3M Company strives to cultivate an important concept among employees, that is, the entrepreneurial spirit of "enthusiasm and dedication". The company's decision-makers pointed out that cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit of enthusiasm and dedication is important. It is necessary for corporate employees to engage in any work. Take new product development as an example. Without the entrepreneurial spirit of dedication, the company's new product development would not be as successful as it is today. Fortune Magazine once commented on this concept as follows: “The most gratifying thing about 3M is that when everyone in the company develops new products, or successfully launches products that others have no confidence in, or figures out how to mass-produce them, When reducing production costs, they can treat products as their own business, and most of the time their bosses let them do so. "3M attaches great importance to building a support system for "innovation warriors", and company managers become innovators." protector". Since the company has a long tradition of innovation, the managers themselves must have experienced the process of inventing new products. For example, they may have a weird style, do not follow the rules, have been banned, and are keen to work hard on a certain invention. I have been working on my beloved invention for more than ten years. But now, as a supervisor, I am sitting there, responsible for protecting the younger generation of "innovation warriors" from the rash interference of company employees, and driving these disruptors out of the "innovation warriors"'s refuge in a timely manner. At 3M Company, in order to protect young "innovation warriors", supervisors often come to a corporate culture education class. While encouraging innovators, they criticize disruptors, open up innovation channels for innovators, and create a good innovation atmosphere. "The captain is so talkative that he won't stop until his tongue bleeds." This is used by the Navy to describe the first time a young military officer piloted and commanded a large ship to enter the port; but at 3M Company, it was used to describe the supervisor's decision to develop the ship. The important task of new products is handed over to the younger generation through a painstaking process. At 3M Company, the "Fighter Supervisor" is not the "immediate boss", but is hired to use his patience and skills to cultivate a new generation of innovative fighters.

The "new venture team" is the basic unit of 3M's support system. This kind of innovation task force has three important characteristics: it is an indefinite task with the full participation of various professionals; it is all volunteers; and it has considerable autonomy.

The members of an innovation team must at least include technical personnel, manufacturing personnel, marketing personnel, business personnel or financial personnel, and all of them are full-time. 3M's decision-makers understand that under this system, some members may not be put to use immediately, resulting in a waste of talent. For example, in the initial stage of development, only about one-third of the manufacturing staff was needed, but 3M seemed willing to pay this price to keep the staff focused and enthusiastic about their work. Their point of view is that only by assigning specific tasks can employees be motivated to give their best efforts and focus on a task. Another way 3M stimulates employee loyalty and dedication is to make innovation team members entirely composed of volunteers. A 3M executive said: "The members of the team are all recruited, and the company never assigns them rigidly. There is a big difference. For example, suppose I am a marketing person assigned to evaluate the ideas of technical staff. In most companies, I usually just ask him to point out all the shortcomings and then say that the idea is terrible, and I can get away with it...but if I volunteer to participate in the group work, this kind of thing will not happen. It can’t happen.” Finally, 3M also specifically guaranteed that the innovation team has considerable independence and job security. The company stipulates that team members are not allowed to disband before the new product launch conference. Edward Roberts, who has studied 3M for 20 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointed out that 3M told the staff of the group: "Our commitment to you is as a group member, and we ask you to meet the company's evaluation According to the prescribed standards for work performance, the company will allow you to be promoted step by step as new products enter the market. As product sales performance grows, you will earn the profits you deserve. In case you fail, we also have a backup recovery system. That guarantees that you will return to the position you were in before joining the group."

In order to ensure that 3M cultivates a dedicated entrepreneurial spirit and "innovation warriors", 3M implements a reward system, whether it is It can encourage the whole group or individual. When their product development plans overcome obstacles and achieve success, each member of the team will be promoted, so innovation warriors will naturally benefit greatly. So, what is the career future of a staff member of a successful innovation team in 3M Company? Robles gave the following description: "At 3M, as long as a person participates in the development of new product innovations, his position level and remuneration category in the company will naturally change with the business growth of the product. For example, he may start as a front-line production engineer and receive the highest or lowest salary for this position. Once his product enters the market, he can be promoted to a 'product engineer' based on the total annual sales of the product. When it reaches $1 million, the product becomes a "fully qualified" product, and his job title and salary grade change significantly. When the product sales exceed the $5 million mark, he will. He can be the "engineering technical manager" of the entire product line. If the product further exceeds the $20 million mark, it can be upgraded to an independent product department. If he is the main technical personnel developing the product, then he will be promoted to an independent product department. It's natural to become the 'engineering manager' or 'research and development director' of that department."

If you want to gain a deeper understanding of how 3M stimulates corporate vitality within the company, it's best to look at the entire company." Values" come to be understood, especially its "Eleventh Commandment: Never kill any new idea." The company may sometimes drag its feet, be less proactive, or refuse to allow an innovation group to be formed, but it never does. Will shoot the creators of new ideas. To further understand how 3M fosters corporate values ??throughout the company, draw from the experiences of each of 3M's senior executives. The company's previous chairman of the board and several important decision-makers all have a well-known history of successful inventions. The entire 3M company's top management is a model for the younger generation to follow. Young people who hope to become innovation warriors often get inspiration and inspiration from the deeds of these predecessors. The invention process of Drew and Burton is a typical example, which is very inspiring to the younger generation of the company.

According to Lear, the current chairman, "When our business staff went to the automobile factory for routine inspection, they noticed that the workers were painting the new two-color car, because the two paints always flowed together, and they felt helpless. At that time, the laboratory A young technician named Drew researched and developed a powerful tape that could cover the parts that did not need to be painted. This not only solved the problem of car painters, but also invented the first paper tape product for 3M Company. In 1930, six years after DuPont introduced cellophane, Drew developed a method of applying adhesive to cellophane. This was how Scotch Tape was born. However, it was only used in industrial packaging until a certain inventor. 3M's business manager, Burton, invented a reel with a paper cutting blade device inside, and Scotch tape really began to be popularized and widely used in offices. "This representative story reflects the typical style of 3M Company and also It has important significance: 1) The close relationship between enterprises and customers. 2) It also shows that not only technicians can invent new products. 3) For 3M Company, any new product development plan has unlimited market potential.

(2) 3M Company’s corporate values ??of not being afraid of failure and encouraging innovation

3M Company has always had a corporate tradition of encouraging innovation and not being afraid of failure. For those who succeed, they give heroes They still provide encouragement to the losers.

Once an innovation fighter successfully invents, they will immediately receive 3M’s heroic hospitality. Lear proudly pointed out, "Every year, there are more than 15 to 20 promising new products that exceed the million-dollar sales mark. You may think that this will not receive much attention at 3M Company, but you are wrong. This Flashlights, bells, and video cameras all came out to warmly praise the achievements of this corporate vanguard. "With such encouragement, 3M's young engineers bravely stepped out of the ivory tower and took risks everywhere with new ideas. . In 3M's values, almost any new product idea is acceptable. Although the company focuses on the painting and laminating industries, it does not exclude new products from other categories. Robles observed: "As long as the product idea meets the company's financial measurement standards, such as sales growth, profit, etc., regardless of whether it falls within the main industry scope of the company, 3M is happy to accept it." Moreover, at 3M In the company, losers will be encouraged. As the saying goes, "Where there is a will, there is a way." The company's decision-makers encourage employees to do this. Chairman Lear often uses past examples to encourage employees not to be afraid of failure and not to be discouraged even if they fail. They should exert the spirit of entrepreneurial struggle. He said: "At 3M, you have the freedom to persevere in scientific research and development. This means having the freedom to not be afraid of making mistakes or failing. “Persistence and perseverance will eventually lead to success in 3M. A 3M executive pointed out: "We will not kill new ideas casually, but sometimes it is inevitable that some ideas will go wrong. After all, we are betting on "people". Sometimes you can't avoid it when you have no choice. A product project that has not yet succeeded must be terminated. But that's how you force the truly enthusiastic inventor to do whatever it takes to make his product project a success. "

At first glance, this may seem like it. It is a very contradictory approach: on the one hand, it strongly supports the development of any potential product idea; on the other hand, it will never over-invest in it, because after all, 3M is a company that pays great attention to practical results. Their typical approach is usually this: Suppose an innovation fighter's product idea has developed from the theoretical stage to the forming stage. They can start organizing innovation groups, usually groups of five or six people. But when the plan is halfway through development and suddenly encounters unexpected difficulties, 3M will quickly cancel the development plan. However, if this innovation warrior is really keen on this plan, the company will not object. Instead, he will be encouraged to go alone or find a partner and spend energy to continue. 3M Company found that, generally speaking, it takes ten years for a new product to be truly accepted by the market. Therefore, in the first place, innovative warriors must experience a period of ups and downs, until finally, the market will mature and the time will come. Finally arrived, his innovation was rebuilt and he began to stand out and stand out. 3M was the first company to view product innovation as a numbers game.

Robert M. Adams, deputy general manager in charge of the research and development department, expressed 3M's attitude: "Our company's style is to do something, sell something, and then develop something further." One of his colleagues further elaborated Explain 3M's strategy: "Start small and move toward big goals. Invest appropriate capital, acquire further knowledge and technology, increase profits, and conduct countless small experiments in a short period of time. A new development is A series of attacks have been gathered together. As long as it is possible to develop into a large-scale and profitable product, the plan will never be subject to unnecessary interference. Any new idea has unlimited development potential. "Therefore, in 3M Company, you can see it everywhere. The "innovation warriors" were experimenting there one by one, but most of them suffered the fate of failure, a few made some gains, and in the end there were always a few who passed many tests and finally succeeded.

For those who want to organize an innovation team, whether they are physics experts or microcomputer experts, 3M will be happy to provide research funds for their use. Moreover, in S?o Paulo, the well-equipped head office itself is an excellent experimental place. Their ability to quickly convert several ideas into several new products on the market is amazing. Moreover, users (customers) will be involved in the entire new product development process from beginning to end. What is even more surprising is that each new product development plan of 3M Company is very short, with an average of only about 5 pages. However, a 3M vice president said disapprovingly: "You have completely misjudged this about 3M. In most companies, new product proposals are usually at least 200 pages or more. In 3M, the first time To propose a new product, you only need to explain it in one coherent sentence. "The vice president continued: "In the early stages of development, we will not waste time and energy needlessly on planning when everything is still uncertain. Of course, we must have plans, such as precise and detailed sales implementation plans, but we must make these detailed plans after the research has developed to a certain extent and we have some clues. At the beginning, we have not yet made them based on customer needs. Why should we spend time writing a 250-page plan before doing some simple experiments?" In the same way, another 3M executive said: "Experience tells us that we really can't be precise before the new product enters the market. We can accurately estimate the sales growth of new products, so we now only make sales forecasts after the products are launched." In his evaluation of 3M's organizational structure, Rob said that from a purely theoretical perspective, There seems to be nothing unique about 3M's organizational structure. One 3M executive even put it in stronger terms: "The organizational structure has nothing to do with us." Having said that, 3M's organizational structure still has several important characteristics. 3M has always maintained a decentralized and autonomous organizational structure. Ten years ago, 3M had 25 departments and has grown to 40 departments now, and will continue to establish new departments. Rather than focus on pursuing business growth in one department, 3M would rather adopt a decentralized approach, which has always been the only way for 3M to succeed. In addition, in 3M Company, if a staff member of a certain department's product development team proposes a new idea, the normal way is to first apply for a development fund to the immediate superior. If rejected by the superior, 3M Company can then apply for a development fund through the relevant corporate rules and regulations. According to the relevant provisions and the relevant provisions stipulated in the corporate culture manual, transfer to another application department. If you are rejected again, you can also transfer to other departments to apply. He may belong to the group that develops viscose products, but he can go to various other product departments as he likes. , touting his new ideas. Even if he is still running into walls and is almost at the end of his rope, 3M still has a highest court, the "Innovation Business Development Department", for them to file their final appeal. Usually, really advanced and special research proposals get the final verdict here.

3. Comments

1. Why is this approach so successful at 3M? It's very simple. 3M uses various incentive mechanisms to encourage those in charge to do this. Any planner of an innovation group will receive considerable rewards as long as he can obtain external funds to support the group's research and development. This provision also applies effectively between department heads. In addition, at 3M, there are many direct reward systems that encourage you to look for opportunities to sell your ideas or try to find opportunities to explore new ideas.

In order to cooperate with the development of this system, 3M is very flexible in personnel transfers. For example, once the idea of ??a staff member of Team A is adopted by a department manager of Team B, the staff member can be transferred to Team B along with his idea. There are other related rules. For example, 3M Company stipulates that the sales of new products in each department in the past five years must account for at least 25% of the department's total turnover. Usually such business goals are based on the entire company in other companies, but in fact, such goals can be achieved by various departments at the middle and lower levels of the enterprise. Therefore, 3M Company has always required each department to achieve this goal, forcing 40 department heads to compete to develop and research new products.

2. The most important concept in 3M's corporate culture is also a concept that the company has repeatedly emphasized, that is, integrity and systematization. The company's success is not just based on one or two factors. Of course, it is undeniable that innovation warriors , fighter supervisors, and innovation teams are the focus of the entire innovation process. However, the main reason why they can succeed is because they have many heroes who support them from all aspects, the support of the company's value system, the tolerance for failure, the adoption of strategies to penetrate special markets, close customer relationships, and the ability to grow from small to large. Development and research methods, flexible company personnel organization, no excessive paper work and red tape, fierce internal competition, combined with these factors, after years of working together, 3M has made this innovative product The strategy has achieved such outstanding and successful performance today.

3. Another major feature of a positive, innovative, and success-seeking corporate environment is the magnanimity to tolerate failure. One of the tenets of 3M's corporate culture is: "You have to accept failure." Emerson's Knight also emphasized: "You need to have the ability to accept failure. Unless you are willing to accept mistakes, you cannot have any success." Innovation and breakthrough. "The spirit of tolerance for failure has become one of the outstanding company spirit connotations. The essence of 3M's corporate culture is directly instilled and cultivated by the company's senior management. This entrepreneurial spirit and innovation fighter represent the company's success. Innovation must go through countless experiments and suffer many failures; otherwise, it will be impossible to learn new knowledge from failures. However, the most noteworthy thing is: regular communication can reduce the blow and punishment caused by failure to Minimum level. The most serious setbacks, the ones that really leave scars, usually result from plans being allowed to proceed for years without careful and clear communication of direction. But in the open communication environment of an outstanding company, where bosses, subordinates and colleagues communicate openly and exchange opinions with each other, you simply cannot hide anything, and there is really no need to do so. Therefore, there are many support systems for innovative fighters, and there is no shortage of support methods. Innovation warriors do not appear naturally. The so-called times create heroes. They must be cultivated with an appropriate environment, such as the company's traditional spirit, multi-faceted support system, tolerance for failure, etc., to encourage and cultivate these groups of unremitting efforts. innovative warriors, not just a few creative wizards.