S6E27 Stephen Hinch | Lessons from HP & Disruptive Innovations

Being an Engineer · 4 Jul 2025 · 56m · Episode 27

What this episode covers

Stephen Hinch, a former HP and Agilent executive and author of 'Winning Through Innovation', discusses the challenges of fostering disruptive innovation within large corporations. He shares his experience launching a calibrated fiber optic oscilloscope line at HP, detailing how he used a 'phantom product' to gather customer data while hiding the true innovation from competitor Tektronix. Hinch also explains the 'curse of the corporate business model,' where risk-averse managers prioritize short-term profits over long-term R&D, and offers advice on building an innovation-friendly culture and using AI effectively.

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