Innovation
08 January 2008
Innovating Makes My Head Work, Says Inventor
An interview with entrepreneur, innovator and inventor Adrian Chernoff
With 71 patents, Adrian Chernoff is one of the most creative American inventors. His creations cover areas as diverse as consumer products, theme-parks, robotics, smart materials, manufacturing and business processes, electrical controls, wheel motors, fuel cells and vehicle bodies. He was the principal inventor behind General Motors' "Reinvention of the Automobile" project, which has produced several concept and demonstration vehicles such as AUTOnomy, Hy-Wire, CARousel and Sequel. He also has worked for Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories and companies such as Staples, Alcoa, Warner Music Group and the Gucci Group. Chernoff runs his own company, Ideation Genesis, based in Boulder, Colorado, which creates and develops consumer and technology goods and other products.
Following is the transcript of a December 19, 2007, interview with Chernoff:
(begin transcript)
Adrian, what drives you? What makes you tick?
Adrian Chernoff: I love the world of new possibilities and new ideas. I get excited trying to bring those ideas into reality. It makes gears in my head work all the time. I work on projects in many diverse areas where I have little or no knowledge or prior experience. I thrive on difficult problems and open-ended questions. I like helping people. It means a world to me.
When you walk on the street, drive a car or do household chores, do you obsessively think: I would change that, I would improve this …?
Chernoff: I sometimes see things differently than most people. When something doesn’t feel right it triggers all sorts of questions in my mind. I think there must be a better way of doing this. I never know what inspires me. But when I am doing something I see new connections, which enable me to create.
Did most of your inventions come out from someone requesting that you do something or from an inspiration that came to you independently of a specific request?
Chernoff: I keep a journal in which I log ideas as they come along and let them incubate. Then I explore them, develop them and propose to companies. But through my company, Ideation Genesis, I also work for clients who either already have an idea or see an opportunity but don’t know how to use it. At General Motors they asked me to reinvent the automobile, at NASA [the National Aeronautics and Space Administration] to invent robotics for space exploration and at [Walt] Disney [Imagineering] to design new theme-park rides.
When you see an opportunity or have an idea, how do you go about developing it?
Chernoff: First, I do research and see where things are. I try to gain some knowledge and understanding, particularly if I deal with an industry I am not familiar with. Then I would typically brainstorm, doing prototyping, mapping and analysis. In the development phase, in addition to detailing a new product or service through charts, diagrams and models, I try to think about manufacturing processes, related industries, marketing and consumer experience. Later, I look at the initial idea and ask myself how I can make it better. I must give reason to people to believe in a new product or service, design it, package it and present it in the way that is understandable to both my client and the end consumer.
Is there any request for innovation you wouldn’t accept or any field you wouldn’t dare to touch?
Chernoff: Yes, but I don’t think I want to go in print with those. I only am willing to explore things that can be of benefit and value to the mankind. One of my weaknesses would be particle physics and finite chemistry. I wouldn’t be able to play at those arenas. I don’t think I have a knowledge base to do it … yet.
Do you have ideas that you initially think are great but decide to discard them after having a closer look?
Chernoff: Absolutely! When I was taking entrepreneurship class in college in the early 1990s I came up with an idea of a digital book-reader. I worked very diligently on it. Yet, at the end nobody in my class believed in it. Then I learned something: that even if you personally are adamant about something, it is unlikely to be successful unless your customers and potential end users believe in it. Look what has happened with the digital book-reader. Sony has been pushing it onto the market for the last five years and Amazon for the last few months but their success is still uncertain. That’s because these products don’t quite fit consumers’ needs.
How much of a role do other people play in developing your ideas?
Chernoff: It’s really important. You have to work with other people. As an idea person, I have an advantage of living in different spaces and wearing different hats. I can think like a marketing person, like a business person, like an engineer, like a designer and what have you. But I can’t do it all. So when I have a vision or an idea, I have to work with other people to make it happen. And when you involve other folks and are willing to listen to them, they contribute a lot and make it better.
Name one failure you are most proud of.
Chernoff: (Pause) I can’t think of one. I don’t give credit to failure unless … I don’t look at failures as successes until I actually succeed.
(end transcript)
