Week 11 Reading Reflection

1. What stood out in the reading?
Reading about Corning's Breakthrough Innovations since 1879 was interesting.  I neither knew that Corning developed the glass envelope for Thomas Edison's lightbulbs nor that they  developed a process for mass-producing television picture tubes.

2. Confusing aspect of the reading
Earlier in the reading, the author stated that an innovation is only something that creates value for the customer, but later he talked about business model innovations which only seem to benefit company operations, not end users.  But, I suppose that having a more effective business model will allow the company to better satisfy customer needs in the long run.  And I suppose this is what the author could have meant.

3. What two questions would I ask the author?
How do you know when it is necessary to innovate and better to keep with current production, and how do you evaluate costs and decide what route will be most effective at increasing profits?  Does producing complementary assets yield more profit or creating new product all together?

4. Was the author wrong about anything?
The author stated that he disagrees with much of the writing on innovation today which supports radical innovation claiming it is the key to growth.  The author rebutted that the vast majority of profits are created through routine innovation.  Well, I think that radical innovation is what makes the biggest impact and can very effectively set one company apart from competitors, attract new customers, and support growth.  While routine innovation does pretty much guarantee steady increase in profits, a major way for a company to get ahead of others is by radically innovating when possible.