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Innovation capital of the world
28 June 2012
PHOENIX–If it's tough for an ex-contract manufacturing executive to admit it, Ed Smith doesn't show it.
"America's going to become the land of innovation, not the land of manufacturing," said Smith, a former CEO of a contract manufacturing company who now is president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas here.
"Everybody says everything moved to China," he said. "China doesn't innovative anything. First of all, China doesn't have the capital base to innovate. You need capital to innovate. We'll continue to innovate because that's just our culture. Our culture is very innovative."
Smith, in an interview here, also said on the downside our culture is becoming very pessimistic as well, but he implied that the pessimism and negativity that resounds through the media is actually balanced by the spirit of innovation that gets underreported.
Here's Smith on innovation, pessimism and the future of electronics:
Jerry Alcone July 10, 2012 at 11:13 am
Brian all you have to do is pay for innovation and you will get it. When the space race started companies paid good money for top engineers and they got them. Now companies don’t pay top $ for engineers and they get dogs.
Brian July 10, 2012 at 6:51 pm
To say that all you have to do is pay for innovation is a simplistic view of investment and the U.S. space race is an example of why it is simplistic. First, I agree that someone needs to pay for innovation and that good compensation attracts good talent. I disagree that private investors are obligated to pay for innovation in any particular location. Capital is mobile and can go to where talent and infrastructure provides the best opportunities for innovation. In other words, don’t get complacent. If the U.S. does not invest in its talent and infrastructure, it will lose the advantage to those countries that do invest.Second, the U.S. space race was driven by government investment. It was not just a race to develop space technology, it was a matter of national pride to beat the Russians to the moon. The space race also spawned investment in education because when the existing talent had been hired they needed to develop additional talent to meet the needs of the program. The U.S. Space race is thus, a lousy example for the point of view that all you need is to pay for innovation. Countries have borders so government investment, unlike private investment, is specifically targeted within those borders. Private capital can go shopping for talent in other regions.
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Brian June 29, 2012 at 5:03 pm
The U.S. can be the capitol of innovation but not because of the reason cited. The U.S has been the land of innovation because the culture encourages creativity and an independence that is not afraid to challenge the status quo. Much of that is due to an educational system which encourages creative expression and critical thinking. Capital is portable and global so it is not tied to any region or country and there are few limits to the migration of capital. Those with capital will seek to invest in any place where potential exists. Some have already established design centers in India and China so they are already testing the potential for innovation from engineers trained in those countries. People, however, are not mobile so the capital will go to the places that have sufficient human resources and infrastructure to turn capital into products and services. In order for the U.S. to remain the innovation capital of the world, it must invest in its people or attract talent from elsewhere to ensure that it continues to have the human resources required for innovation.