Summary: Research and development is tightly coupled with product management and innovation. To learn how an R&D person thinks about innovation, I talked with Dana A. Oliver, who has 30 impressive years of experience in R&D groups. He now focuses on writing and coaching, after leaving Medtronic, the medical device company, where he was the Senior Director of R&D.<br> <br> He has also written two books. His first is Mantra Leadership and his second and most recent is Mantra Design. In Mantra Design he shares 14 principles, or mantras, for innovation and developing premium priced, patent protected, and market share leading products.<br> <br> We discuss a few of his mantras and then explore the future of R&D. The mantras discussed include:<br> <br> -Innovate, Buy or Die<br> -Learn Your Customer’s World!<br> -Innovation begins with the Eye<br> -It Takes a Long Tim to Get to Simple
