Innovation Leader: Louis Foreman by Barbara Hall

When I think of innovation, the first person to come to mind is Louis Foreman, founder and chief executive of Enventys (www.enventys.com).  The company is an integrated product design and engineering firm which under one roof provides the services needed for a person to take an idea to the marketplace.   Enventys is based in Charlotte, N.C. but also has offices in Hong Kong and currently has 65 employees.  You may have seen Louis on the Emmy® Award winning PBS-TV show, Everyday Edisons which he created and continues to serve as executive producer and lead judge.

Louis graduated from The University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science degree in economics. His interest in starting businesses and developing innovative products began while a sophomore with his first company founded in his fraternity room, called Competitive Edge Sports, where he sold lacrosse equipment.  Over the past 20 years he has created five successful start-ups and has been directly responsible for the creation of dozens of others. A prolific inventor, Louis is the inventor of nine registered U.S. Patents and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 150 more.

I had the pleasure of talking with Louis about innovation.

What is your definition of innovation and how does it differ from invention? 

The simplest definition of innovation is an idea plus execution.  Creating something new is just part of it.  You have to follow- through with commercialization, creating value, licensing, selling. So the difference is that invention is the discovery of something new, a novel concept, but the commercialization of an invention is innovation, taking the invention and doing something with it.  When you execute the idea it’s innovation.

How has innovation changed in recent years, let’s say within the past 10 years? 

The pace of innovation has accelerated significantly.   There used to be a certain sense of contentment among consumers.  Products had a longer shelf life and products didn’t advance so quickly. Now everything is new and improved and supposed to be better than in the past. This is due to technology and communication. We’re at a faster pace today and companies have to keep up with consumer demand.  You buy a product and just within a matter of months there’s a new product on the market.

So, consumer demand is part of the reason because consumer purchasing is a huge part of our GDP. But other factors that drive innovation include the interest in preserving natural resources, doing what’s better for the environment, or creating something new for cost savings.

What factors should drive innovation within a company? 

Within a company innovation should be tied to generating an economic return.  You do it to generate a profit. You shouldn’t do things that won’t benefit the company and its shareholders. It should also be tied to the organization’s capabilities. Innovation needs to be part of the company culture. It can’t just be ‘Let’s get people in a room and brainstorm around a table.’ It needs to involve a much broader group within a company. It’s important to create a culture that embraces innovation, a culture that understands the risks and rewards and that failure is part of that equation, too.

Not all entrepreneurs are innovators or are they? 

Most entrepreneurs are innovators however, you can be an entrepreneur in a business, but not necessarily doing something new, so you’re an entrepreneur, but not necessarily an innovator. You are not necessarily involved in creating something new. You’re selling hamburgers the same way.  You’re an entrepreneur, but not an innovator.

What is innovation leadership?

Setting the example within the organization, establishing best practices.  Doing innovation, not just talking about it.

Is it up to the company owner to set a culture of innovation?

I believe it starts at the top.  It starts with leadership in establishing the culture.  You can’t just demand results, that you’re going to have a crop if you don’t plant the seeds.  You have to water the seeds and plant in the right fertile ground for it to take. It’s unrealistic to expect a huge crop if you haven’t done what’s necessary to provide nutrients for the crop to flourish.

What are some common traits innovators have? 

Innovators tend to look at things a little differently.  They tend to understand the balance between risk and reward.  They’re not afraid of failure.  When you play it too safe or don’t reach far enough, you’re not going to be an innovator. You’re not going to find the game changing element. What holds a lot of people back is the fear of failure. They fear it’s not going to work and feel it’s safer to make small improvements. An innovator will run the risk that they may fail.

How did you come up with the idea for Enventys? 

It evolved out of my frustration as an entrepreneur.  If a company wanted to launch a new product they would work with a list of companies to design and build a prototype, package, do a website, market research.  When you have a lot of different players trying to work together and something doesn’t live up to expectations, they start pointing fingers.  My thought was let’s bring all these people together.  Let’s own the entire process and be accountable for results so I started Enventys 13 years ago.

You’re in your fifth season of Everyday Edisons on PBS.   Do you have a favorite story of someone on the show, an innovation? 

Every show has really creative people and they all have remarkable stories.  They all identified a problem or pain and looked for a way to create a remedy.   From our very first season, we had a standout product called the Gyro Bowl. The parents were constantly cleaning up food from their young children, so they came with the problem and created the bowl.  It’s sold millions.

What advice would you give someone who wants to be innovative? 

Always question why things are being done. Never assume that there isn’t a better way of doing something.  Question the status quo and don’t be afraid of failure.  It’s not the worst thing in world. Learn from mistakes and improve the outcomes in the future. Also, find something you’re excited or passionate about.