Experimentation Zones
AT THESE RISK-EMBRACING COMPANIES, CONSTANT EXPLORATION IS STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.
Amazon SEATTLE
One way Amazon cultivates ideas from more than 600,000 employees is via a process called “working backwards”: Any employee with a big idea is encouraged to create a plan that includes a customerimpact statement, a mock press release, key questions, and perspectives from different business areas. It’s how site features such as Prime Now and Amazonsmile began.
Ansys CANONSBURG, PA
A small group of Ansys developers had an idea: Use graphics processing units rather than slower conventional central processing units for the company’s core software product. Management gave them dedicated working space, serv
ers, and relief from their normal duties. Discovery Live launched last year— the first engineering software that provides real-time physics simulation and geometry editing.
Epsilonconversant IRVING, TX
Recently acquired by Publicis, the marketing company has an “automate to innovate” ethos underlying proprietary technologies like Grasshopper, which translates digital ad campaign assets into fully formatted interactive ad units of all sizes, reducing the number of hours digital producers spend formatting by nearly 400% per campaign.
Genentech SAN FRANCISCO
The biotech firm employs more than 120 postdoctoral fellows engaged in basic discovery research and generates about 350 articles each year in peer-reviewed journals. Its innovation fund and incubator support employees with novel ideas that aren’t necessarily being explored by the company, such as new drug-delivery systems or applying AI to drug design.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory LAUREL, MD
Associates and fellows at the state-ofthe-art research complex have 24/7 access to 3D printing, a VR/AR room, and an electronics workbench; a centralized database keeps researchers abreast of new developments in other labs. Last year, the APL reported 419 new inventions and 30 new patents.
Klick TORONTO
The independent digital health-marketing agency uses its innovation lab to experiment with emerging tech platforms. In the six years since it began operating, Klick’s software company, Sensei Labs, thas produced a patentpending technology that records and transmits Parkinson’s tremors in real time, a patented VR app that offers patients 3D visual perspectives on their internal medical conditions, and an enterpriselevel collaborative work-management platform.
Procter & Gamble CINCINNATI
Here’s how the CPG giant’s Growthworks program functions: After conducting consumer research to identify a problem, a small team prototypes and tests a solution on a metered-funding basis, earning additional investment upon reaching preestablished milestones. Growthworks currently has more than 130 experiments running, including 10 that have launched.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals TARRYTOWN, NY
At science-based organizations, employees typically need a PHD to be promoted from research associate to staff scientist. Biotechnology company Regeneron, however, tracks and rewards practical training as research associates accumulate it, recognizing the value of realworld, on-the-job experience.
Salesforce SAN FRANCISCO
Employees on Salesforce’s technology and product team can move to another group within the department, gaining exposure to a totally new range of technologies and customers. Nearly 30% of the open jobs in Technology and Product are filled via internal transfers.
Sonatype FULTON, MD
At Sonatype, which makes products that help developers and security professionals manage open-source code, designated “innovation days” take place every other week, allowing employees to explore and tinker. Last year, employees worked on 511 projects stemming from the program.
Workday PLEASANTON, CA
The provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR holds a semiannual Spelunking Conference, where employees present lessons gleaned from project failures. The company plows more than 30% of revenue back into R&D and has a 40-person research team focused on incubating new products.