NanoInnovation: What Every Manager Needs to Know

6Lessons from the First Wave of Nanoventures

If I know I'm right, I don't need to convince skeptics. I'm proceeding on the basis that I'm right, and if I'm right, I win.

– James von Ehr, Founder, Zyvex Corporation

In 2000 while keynoting an industry conference, I coined the term “nanodextrous” to describe the ability to work at the nanoscale as well as the macroscale. Nanoinnovators live in two worlds – nano and macro. They have to be equally proficient with nanoscale materials and properties and the macroscale products they enable. In other words, they need to be “nanodextrous.” For an organization involved in nanoinnovation, nanodexterity is a core competence.

The concept of nanodexterity has its roots in the concept of the “ambidextrous organization” developed by Charles O'Reilly and Michael L. Tushman [1]. An ambidextrous organization is an organization that simultaneously (i) exploits existing technologies and products and (ii) explores emerging technologies.

A nanodextrous organization is an organization that works with the nanoscale properties of materials, processes, and technologies while simultaneously developing commercial (macroscale) products based on those properties. Nanodextrous innovators are able to deal with materials and processes they can hold in their hand and see with the naked eye, as well as those that can only be viewed with an atomic force microscope and manipulated with a nanoscale probe. Nanodexterity requires different competencies and skill sets, ...