Abstract
In the 1920s, it took 17 days to paint a Buick and 34 days to paint a Cadillac. At that time, Charles “Boss” Kettering was made a Vice President of United Motor Company, later known as General Motors (GM).2 At a division manager’s meeting, Kettering laid out the problem. He pointed out that GM could put a car together in minutes, but that it took anywhere from 17 to 34 days to paint it. If GM was going to produce thousands of cars a day, then storage was going to become a major issue.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
REFERENCES
Allen, Oliver E. 1996. Kettering. Innovation & Technology Magazine 12(2). Available at: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1996/2/1996_2_52.shtml
Christensen, Clayton M. and Michael E. Raynor. 2003. The Innovator’s Solution. Harvard School Press.
Grootaert, Robert. 1998. Social Capital: The Missing Link? The World Bank, Social Development Department. Washington, DC.
Kelly, Tom and Jonathan Littman. 2001. The Art of Innovation. New York: Doubleday.
Kim, W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne. 2005. Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard School Press.
Pang, Alex Soojung-Kim. 2002. The Making of the Mouse. Invention & Technology Magazine 17(3). Available at: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2002/3/2002_3_48.shtml
—. n.d. Mighty Mouse. Stanford Magazine. Available at: http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2002/marapr/features/mouse.html
Rosenfeld, Robert and Gary Wilhelmi. Forthcoming. Innovation Unshackled: A Practical Guide for the Human Dynamics of Innovation.
Rosenfeld, Robert. 2006. Making the Invisible Visible: The Human Principles for Sustaining Innovation. Xlibris.
Wilson, Glenn and Ken Lauer. 2001. Lessons from Boss Ket! Communique 12. The Creative Problem-Solving Group, Inc. Buffalo, NY.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2011 Augusto López-Claros
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rosenfeld, R., Wilhelmi, G., Harrison, A. (2011). Organizations Don’t Innovate, People Do: Trust Is the Foundation. In: López-Claros, A. (eds) The Innovation for Development Report 2010–2011. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230299269_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230299269_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-23967-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-29926-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)