Edwin Land invented the Polaroid instant camera way back in 1947. His Polaroid Corporation became an innovation leader by paying attention to these nine key areas.

Edwin H. Land dropped out of Harvard University to set up the Polaroid Corporation and invent the Polaroid instant camera during the late 1940s. He founded his company on a simple principle, “Find out what everyone is doing, and do something else.” Land’s company became a center of innovative activity in the field of photography and optics, with the prolific scientist leading the way with over 500 patents to his credit, second only to Thomas Edison. Land believed there were three kinds of equity upon which to build an enterprise: the numbers from the balance sheet, an inventory of accomplishments, and (what he considered most important) intellectual capital.

Land led the Polaroid Corporation for 43 years, building it into a living example of how focused innovation provides a competitive advantage. Here are some of the ways Land and his company attained and sustained that advantage.

  1. Industry-rocking inventions. Polaroid introduced the instant camera in 1947, and it steered the photography industry into an entirely new direction. It also enabled the company to expand and escape imminent doom when the auto industry refused to adopt it polarizing filters for reducing headlight glare.
  2. Protective patents. These protected Polaroid’s intellectual property, allowing the company to reap the rewards of its efforts before competitors could step in.
  3. Alliances. Polaroid entered into strategic joint ventures and projects with other companies, assuring much-needed income, especially during the early stages of a product’s life cycle. For example, they supplied Eastman Kodak with polarizing filters for their cameras, and sold polarizing lenses to manufacturers of sunglasses.
  4. Publicity. Land and his colleagues cultivated a harmonious relationship with the press, which contributed greatly to painting the image of Polaroid as a company where exciting things in science and art originated from.
  5. Intelligent financing. Land was careful to keep Polaroid out of debt. He also seemed to be able to find the right financing at the right time, making funds available for research and development, while still giving him full control.
  6. Endless tinkering. Land and his team were ever willing to reinvent their products again and again, always finding new and better ways to do things, and constantly finding new applications for these products.
  7. Adopt new technologies. Polaroid was always willing and ready to build around cutting edge technologies. During the 1970s, they introduced a new sonar ranging device to solve a tricky focusing problem on their instant camera.
  8. Able management. Polaroid experienced a growth rate greater than 100 percent from 1950 to 1970. Land was able to buck the pressure, and successfully motivate his managers and production staff through generous benefits.
  9. Marketing push. Land was never hesitant nor afraid to let his marketing people find customers for their products. He was always ready to let his experienced marketing people try new and unusual ways to sell theirproducts.

Could you use Edwin Land’s approach to your own company, and see it thrive, even in the midst of the current recession?