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Colorado State University
Creativity, Innovation and Value Creation J. Robert Mitchell MGT 330
Creativity, Innovation and Value Creation J. Robert Mitchell
MGT 330 Colorado State University
Table of Contents Sensible Life Products (A)................................................................................................................5 Neal Hoffman And The Mensch On A Bench.................................................................................15 Sequel to Success: The Follow Up to Abatis Systems...................................................................39 Challenges and Opportunities at the Protospace Makerspace.......................................................53 Play On! Building the Entrepreneurial Opportunity (A)...................................................................73 OWC Watch Company: Facing the Hard Truth of Success and Failure.........................................85 Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics......................................................................................105 Boehringer Ingelheim: Leading Innovation...................................................................................127 General Mills Canada: Building a Culture of Innovation (A)..........................................................139 CIBC: Internalizing Open Innovation............................................................................................145 Aston Martin: The Crossover Conundrum....................................................................................157
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SENSIBLE LIFE PRODUCTS (A)
Brent McKnight wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Charlene Zietsma solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail
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Version: (A) 2007-08-15
In June 2006, Sam DeAth, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sensible Life Products (SLP), was contemplating an upcoming meeting with his advisory team. The team needed to make a decision regarding the future of the company: how and to whom to either sell their business or license their technology. Since its founding in 1997, DeAth’s (pronounced Dee-ath) small firm had been inundated with acquisition offers, licensing requests and other opportunities; simply managing the suitors had been a fulltime job. DeAth had started SLP after his son Conor’s birth nine years ago. Conor, born with 10 per cent of a functioning immune system, was very sensitive to bacteria and infection and had faced significant health challenges. DeAth and his wife had used conventional cleaning and disinfectant products liberally to provide a safe environment for Conor, but found they were exposing their son to the harmful chemicals in the cleaning products themselves. They searched in vain for a disinfectant that was both non-toxic and environmentally friendly. DeAth had asked his mother, a self-taught aromac