While visiting Ideation in Detroit,
Michigan, Tsukasa Shinohara of Nikkei
Mechanical, the largest publication
company in Japan, conducted the following
interview with Zion Bar-El, President and CEO of Ideation
International. Mr. Shinohara's visit preceded a seminar
on the Ideation/TRIZ Methodology held in Shinagawa,
Japan.
Mr. Shinohara: Can
you tell our Japanese readers how you became involved
with TRIZ and Ideation?
Mr. Bar-El: Being
an electronics engineer by education, I have been
involved in the high-tech marketplace for the last 28
years. For most of that time I held various management
positions, and have also been the founder of several
companies. In 1991 I entered semi-retirement to spend
time with my wife and five children in Palos Verdes,
California.
I first heard about the
TRIZ methodology in February, 1992 from a colleague who
was an associate of Valery Tsourikov and his company,
Invention Machine. After numerous conversations with Mr.
Tsourikov I was motivated to investigate more about TRIZ,
even though I was not particularly impressed by his
approach. Although I have two patents related to
conductive plastics, I do not consider myself to be a
gifted inventor and have always believed that people who
invent are somehow different from the rest of us. What
motivated me to look further into TRIZ was the fact that
in Israel, where I am from, the methodology had been
taught at the Open University (in Tel Aviv) for over a
decade, and more than 20% of Israeli engineers had
learned about a small element of this methodology. I went
to Israel in August, 1992 to meet with the president of
the university, numerous TRIZ scientists, and to
interview several companies that have applied TRIZ to
overcoming difficult roadblocks. In parallel, my business
partner went to Russia to meet with Genrich Altshuller,
the founder of TRIZ, and to visit Boris Zlotin and Alla
Zusman, who founded the Kishinev School (the largest TRIZ
school in Russia), and their elite TRIZ scientists.
We had three questions in
mind: First, did the methodology have a proven
theoretical base? Second, was there anything proprietary
about it? And third, could a business be built around it?
We soon learned that the TRIZ theoretical base, which
incorporated over five decades of research, was
extensive. It demonstrated a true science. And Classical TRIZ, which was developed between 1946 and 1985, included
nothing proprietary in nature since everything had been
published. We were surprised by something else, however.
The Kishinev School, which had gained a tremendous
reputation – they had trained over 6000 students and
solved more than 4000 problems through their affiliated
company, Progress – had elected not to reveal any of
the advances they had made over the previous nine years.
These advances were related to the TRIZ analytical tools,
knowledge-base tools, new applications, and more. We
concluded that in order to build a business around this
phenomenal methodology and maintain technological
leadership, we had to do it with the founders of the
Kishinev School. We purchased the school and transferred
it to the United States, and Ideation was incorporated as
an American company in November, 1992.
What business is
Ideation in?
We are in the business of
education, software, and analytical services. Let me
explain. We have learned that for an organization to
institutionalize a new methodology is usually
complicated, tedious and time-consuming. Furthermore,
there is the "Not Invented Here" syndrome to
contend with. To overcome a mindset it was necessary to
establish credibility – i.e., provide knowledge of
what the methodology is all about. That put us in the
business of education, and we have a number of courses
available. It is also critical, however, to expedite the
utilization of the methodology, and to achieve this we
developed a family of innovative software tools –
that put us in the software business. We also found that
on occasion we are required to deliver a total turn-key
solution, and for that we entered the business of
providing analytical services.
What other companies
besides Ideation are marketing TRIZ?
In terms of education,
there are several individuals who emigrated from Russia
and a few training companies who offer courses in
Classical TRIZ only. As for software, there are only two
companies that I’m aware of – Invention Machine
and Ideation. And providing TRIZ analytical services are,
again, several Russian emigrants as well as Invention
Machine and Ideation.
What is the
difference between Invention Machine and Ideation?
There are major
differences in principle, strategy, market focus, and
customer support. In a sense, these differences are
evident from the roots, i.e., with the founders of each
company. Boris Zlotin, one of Ideation’s founders,
is a scientist and was a close associate of Altshuller.
Mr. Zlotin has continued advancing the methodology and is
truly the leading TRIZ theoretician in the world. He has
surrounded himself with other top theoreticians, and his
prime focus is on further advancing the theory and
developing tools to guide an individual through the
process of innovation.
On the other hand, Mr.
Tsourikov (the founder of Invention Machine) is not a
TRIZ theoretician, although he is knowledgeable about
Classical TRIZ. His focus was in artificial intelligence
and in designing machines that invent. In fact, as was
stated by Tom Lewis (the president of Invention Machine)
when I met with him recently, Invention Machine stopped
working with TRIZ and is pursuing the direction of
building a software company based on artificial
intelligence. This is evident in their latest product,
IM-PhenomenonÔ , which has nothing to do with
TRIZ. So you can see that there is a major difference in
the philosophies and approaches of the two companies.
Ideation is positioning
itself as the undisputed technological leader in the
Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, where they help
enterprises, large or small, with the essential function
of innovation as a means to increase the value of their
intellectual capital portfolio. It is Ideation’s
vision to standardize its methodology, both in academia
and throughout different industries. As for Invention
Machine, according to what their president has told me,
they are splitting into a software company and a
consulting company. Their consultants don’t use
their software to solve inventive problems.
Ideation’s scientists not only use our software, but
guide individuals in becoming self-sufficient.
Further illustrating the
differences between the two companies will be the results
of the benchmark study of Ideation’s Innovation
WorkBenchÔ . System and the IM-TechOptimizerÔ . You see, Ideation believes that the power
of the methodology lies not in utilizing it as an idea
generator, but in offering the assurance that can only be
achieved when you have obtained an exhaustive set of
directions for innovation, and thereafter an exhaustive
set of solution concepts. I would like anyone out there
who either has a patent or a solution, and who seeks this
assurance, to visit with our methodology process.
How successful has
Ideation been since its beginning five years ago?
The first three years were
tough. In numerous attempts to institutionalize the
methodology in an organization, we found resistance to
change, resistance to innovation, difficulties with
changing mindset, etc. Still, we have had some successes.
We’ve managed to conduct business with more than 350
industrial companies – from small and medium-sized
companies to large ones such as Proctor & Gamble,
Ford, Motorola, GM, Chrysler, Xerox, and others, and have trained several thousand
people and installed several thousand of our TRIZSoftÔ tools. But the turning point for Ideation
came in 1996, when we started working with our customers
in applying our Anticipatory Failure Determination and
Directed Evolution applications. Particularly when, with
Northern Telecom, we applied Directed Evolution to
determine the near- and long-term future of speech
recognition. Since then, Ideation has been growing at a
rapid rate, with our biggest success occurring last year
with the establishment of an exclusive corporate
agreement with Amoco.
Does Ideation
specialize in any particular industry?
Not yet, although we have
gained a great deal of experience in the automotive,
medical, chemical, and heavy machinery industries. It is
our plan to grow vertically; i.e., to establish teams
which specialize in various industries. And to adapt the
Ideation/TRIZ Methodology and its software family to each
of those industries.
How expensive are
your products and services?
Our educational programs
and software have been designed to be affordable to any
enterprise, no matter how small. A selected technical
individual can be trained in the methodology and in the
use of the software for less than $5,000, and that
includes keeping the software. We have also made sure
that the initial step – purchasing the learning
package – is without risk. That is, unless an
individual has the desire to learn and recognizes the
value of what Ideation has to offer, he should not make
any commitment. For this purpose we allow him or her to
take the learning package for $1000, work with it for a
month or two in order to spend 30 to 50 hours reviewing,
analyzing, and practicing with it. The decision to
continue takes place after that.
How long does it
take to become self sufficient with the methodology and
the software?
It depends on the
individual. We believe that for the learning phase, 50
hours is plenty. After that is a three-day workshop,
followed by three months of practicing an average of 5
hours per week. Anyone who is interested can look up the
details on our web site (http://www.ideationtriz.com).
What does it take
for someone to become a TRIZ specialist?
We believe that a TRIZ
specialist should study a minimum of 175 hours under the
direction of one or more top TRIZ theoreticians. He or
she should be involved in the practical application of
the methodology, be able to invent in any field, and to
apply the concepts of AFD and DE. Such an individual is
adept in the use of all of the TRIZ analytical and
knowledge-base tools. The first step in accomplishing
this is to become self-sufficient in Inventive Problem
Solving. After that, there should be a period of practice
to gain confidence with the methodology and the tools.
Finally, there is a 12-day course of intensive learning.
Are you giving the
courses for TRIZ specialists on an ongoing basis?
In 1998 we are planning to
give two, one in June and one in November. Such a
program, however, could be customized per enterprise
requirements, once an enterprise has decided to
institutionalize the methodology.
Are you interested
in teaching the methodology in universities?
Absolutely. Our aim is to
develop a standard curriculum, not only for engineering
students but for management students as well. Toward this
end we are working with two experienced educators, Dr.
Tomasz Arciszewski of George Mason University, and Dr.
David Hughes of the University of North Carolina. [Editor’s
note: See Dr. Arciszewski’s report,
"Ideation/TRIZ: Innovation Key to Competitive
Advantage and Growth" in Ideation’s web site
(http://www.ideationtriz.com).]
What are your plans
for Japan?
I’ve had experience
conducting business in Japan with a previous company that
I owned, and I like the Japanese marketplace. It is
important that Ideation has appropriate partners and I
believe the close collaboration with Nikkei, SANNO, and
CTC is a good beginning. We have decided to immediately
start translating our educational material and software
into Japanese, and plan later this year to establish
Ideation of Japan. We strongly believe that the Japanese
culture has a great synergy with the TRIZ methodology,
and that it will therefore be adapted in an expeditious
manner.
What do you think
will happen with TRIZ in the future?
Boris Zlotin,
Ideation’s chief scientist and my partner, believes
that the Ideation/TRIZ methodology today is where physics
was in the middle of the 18th century. As it
expands into other areas of human knowledge, not only
will it be a useful tool, but its structure can form a
base by which other disciplines can be structured. A new
way of learning – a way which is based on TRIZ
– can be developed. The evolutionary features of the
methodology can be used as a basis for developing
evolutionary theories in other areas, and thus Ideation/TRIZ becomes, in a sense, a language. There are
indeed many advancements to be made.
On behalf of Nikkei,
thank you for speaking with us, Mr. Bar-El.
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