3M Case Study (4)
“3M has been known for decades as an entrepreneurial company that pursues growth through innovation. It generates a quarter of its annual revenues from products less than five years old. 3M started life as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company back in 1902. Its most successful product - flexible sandpaper - still forms an important part of its product line but this now comprises of over 60000 products that range from adhesive tapes to office supplies, medical supplies and equipment to traffic and safety signs, magnetic tapes and CDs to electrical equipment. Originally innovation was encouraged informally by the founders, but over more than a century some of these rules have been formalized. But most important of all there has built up a culture which encourages innovation. And because this culture has built up a history of success, it perpetuates itself.”
3M is a global innovation company that never stops inventing. Over the years their innovations have improved daily life for hundreds of millions of people all over the world. They have made driving at night easier, made buildings safer, and made consumer electronics lighter, less energy-intensive and less harmful to the environment. Every day at 3M, one idea always leads to the next, igniting momentum to make progress possible around the world. Innovation is a way of life. It’s a deliberate, ongoing and persevering process of discovery, a curiosity for the new and a passion for making things better. And that does not apply just to its own products; 3M is relied upon by companies throughout the world to help further their own innovation. This uniqueness has resulted in the 3M brand being perceived almost synonymously with innovation throughout much of its 100 year history. The root of 3M's success is its business model; to foster organic growth by inventing entirely new, market-changing