What SMEs can learn from Philips' Natlab

In Philips' heyday, Natlab was a symbol of unbridled innovation. It was a place where engineers were allowed to pioneer, without strict deadlines, predefined targets, or business cases.

They were simply allowed to follow their curiosity. Experiment. Fail. Try. And sometimes something revolutionary emerged. Think of the CD player. The electric shaver. Technology that has had a global impact for decades.

Innovation often does not happen in the boardroom

What Natlab teaches us is simple: the best inventions often do not arise from strategic plans or market analysis, but from curiosity on the work floor.

• An operator who thinks: “What if I do this step differently?”
• An engineer who tinkers with a batch of leftover parts.
• A software developer who suddenly stumbles upon something during a side project.

It is precisely these kinds of spontaneous ideas that regularly form the basis for breakthroughs that no one could have planned in advance.

Radical innovation cannot be managed

This is perhaps the most challenging aspect for many entrepreneurs: relinquishing the notion that you can fully plan or control innovation.

Of course, you have your R&D projects, your goals, and your roadmaps. But truly groundbreaking discoveries often arise when there is room to color outside the lines. No predetermined budget. No immediate return on investment requirement. Just get started. Who knows what will come of it.

What if every SME had its own mini Natlab?

Instead of one large Natlab, we can apply that philosophy within SMEs.

• Provide employees with access to necessary materials, tools, and knowledge.
• Schedule time for free experimentation periodically.
• Encourage people to pursue small ideas without needing to justify immediate results.

You don't have to free up millions for this. Often, the potential is already there in your organization: your people work with your product, your machines, and your customers every day. They identify where the problems lie and where things could be done more efficiently.

Not every attempt will be successful - but that's not a bad thing

Yes, many ideas will fail. But the few times that something surprising does come along, it will more than pay for itself. Perhaps you will discover a smarter production method. Or a more efficient process that reduces costs. Or maybe you will come across a completely new product idea. These are the discoveries that your competitors could not have predicted.

The World of Patents

Dutch and European patent attorney Marco Coolen (AOMB) gives us a better understanding of the world of patents. How do they work, why are they important, but also: when do they lose their usefulness?

View The World of Patents

Curiosity as a business strategy

Radical innovation requires curiosity and freedom. Don't nail everything down in advance. Don't punish every experiment that fails.

By systematically giving your employees some space to explore their ideas, you create exactly the breeding ground needed for unexpected successes.

Because tomorrow's big breakthrough? It starts today on the work floor, when you give people the space to let the unexpected happen.