Riding the cutting edge

Smart Business Columbus, Jun 2008 by Byron, Nancy

After all, innovation isn't just about selling a new, improved service or product. It's also about working smarter.

"There are a lot of hidden costs," Kohrt says. "I believe the organization always has more knowledge about how they can operate more effectively than management gives them credit for. So we're now trying to get the staff to step back and say, 'Do you have a better idea?'

"It comes in many different arenas - some of them seemingly mundane - but it can improve your cost position or your competitive position in unexpected ways."

"You just have to be open to it. It's not just the product. It's innovation in many different areas."

HOW TO REACH: Battelle Memorial Institute, (614) 424-6562 or www.battelle.org

The Kohrt file

Birthplace: Normal, Ill.

Education: B.S., chemistry, Furman University; master's degree in management, MIT; doctorate, physical chemistry, University of Chicago

First job: Hoeing corn out of soybeans. The better-paying job was being the only newspaper boy in a town of 1,800 people. I had a monopoly.

Greatest business challenge: The toughest one was figuring out how to transition a business where the technology changed. We had to still maintain leadership while the technology was changing. That was the biggest intellectual challenge. The biggest physical challenge was negotiating the acquisition of and development of an industry in China.

Most important business lesson: Respect for people, in the long term, will never serve you wrong. Diversity in people is a strength, not a weakness. It's a competitive advantage.