Seeing entire picture is vital– Business folk, inventors must work together

Working with inventors and other technical people can be a challenge for those trained in business — and vice versa.

By A. Brent Strong
Brigham Young University deseretnews.com

The differences are not just in training, although those are significant. I have found major differences in the basic concepts about what the
business is all about. Perhaps some comparisons and suggestions for improved interactions might be useful.
I teach a course on entrepreneurship to engineers and technologists. In the class, we study how to launch a new business, focusing on
the writing of the business plan. As a semester project, each student participates in a small team that actually writes a plan for a business
that they want to begin.
The biggest problems I have seen in these business plans, which I think are problems common to most engineers and technologists, are:

Only a surface understanding of the financial presentation.

A belief that a good product will sell itself.

No real concept of product distribution, its importance, or the way to make it work.

The shortcomings in the plan are, of course, exactly the strengths that would come from students in business. Therefore, we try to
encourage interaction and forming of joint teams between the business and engineering students.
The lack of understanding of the financial and sales/marketing side of the business is, however, only part of the conflict that can arise
between business and technical sides of a company. Because inventors believe that the product is the reason for the existence of the
company, they often resent giving up major parts of the company to people who bring business skills or, even more, to people whose
contribution is financial.
This attitude is, to some extent, understandable, since the focus of the inventor has been nearly exclusively on the product and its
technical development. Often, inventors have used all their technical skills to bring the problem to light, and they look down on the more
mundane skills of the businessman. Therefore, it behooves the engineer to see the skills of the businessman as valuable, but it also behooves
the businessman to appreciate the point of view of the inventor.
I believe that seeing the whole picture is the key to success for both groups. But it seems that as we grow in our knowledge and specific
expertise, we seem to move away from the ability to see the entire picture.
Jean Piaget, a famous psychologist, wanted to investigate the way people
perceive the whole picture versus parts of the picture. He questioned several young
people regarding their understanding of a bicycle.
Four-year-olds saw the bicycle as a whole — a thing that just goes. The
6-year-old is starting to see component parts, and may see the wheels as separate
from the rest of the bike. Most children are nearly 9 before they can understand the
components of a bike and, perhaps, sketch the bike from memory. Adults (inventors)
focus even more strongly on the components. They worry about gear ratios and
diameters, about strengths and stiffness. Their training and their expertise are in the
details, and so that is where the inventors focus.
And that’s the secret for how inventors can improve their business capabilities.
The inventor must forget the wheels, chain and sprocket and envision just riding the
bike — sailing with the wind. Then the inventor will start to appreciate the viewpoint of
marketing.
And what is the corresponding need for the businessperson? To see the beauty of
a good design. Let the functionality of it impress you. Get into the beauty of the
details.
There is value on both sides.

A. Brent Strong is associated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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