CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - 39

CTO STRAIGHT TALK | ISSUE 3

from a traditional government request
for proposal. That is because we try to
cultivate an environment that unleashes
new levels of creativity and entirely new
approaches to solve our customers'
biggest challenges.
To foster innovation beyond the company's
core priority R&D projects, we established
an employee resource group for
intrapreneurs and an internal venturecapital-type firm, through which Harris
scientists and engineers can champion
new ideas they feel have broad potential.
Those budding intrapreneurs also have
the opportunity to compete for seed
funding from the company to advance
their ideas. As part of this initiative, we
recently launched a Shark Tank-style
competition that offers up to $50,000
to employees for innovative ideas. In its
first year, more than 100 proposals were
submitted from around the company,
and 20 were granted seed funding.
Subsequently, five of those bright ideas
received additional funding and support.
We believe that these ideas will eventually
yield marketable innovations.
As these projects move forward, the
developers behind them are given more
time to pursue their goals and more
opportunities to collaborate across company
locations. This helps them and their project,
while also building bridges between
business units that might otherwise tend to
become somewhat insular.
In addition to the Shark Tank-style
competitions, we also established "reverse
pitches," where business leaders can share
with other groups any problems with
which they need help. Attendees come
back later and present ideas for how to
solve those problems.
To further foster companywide
brainstorming and idea sharing, we also
host an internal technology exhibition

called the Harris Tech Expo, where
engineers and scientists showcase and
discuss the breadth of innovative projects
under way across the company.
The Tech Expo is held during National
Engineers Week-an annual celebration
when the company and employees host
informative seminars, team-building
events, competitive activities, and various
ceremonies recognizing our engineers'
and scientists' many contributions. We
cap off the Expo with an announcement
of the company's choice for the Harris
Corporation Fellow Award, our highest
recognition for engineering achievement.

C

REATING ANINNOVATION HUB

At Harris, we want to provide
our employees with the physical
environment to help nurture the
creativity and collaboration that will spark
the next big ideas.
That is why we opened the Harris
Technology Center last year. A $135
million, 464,000-square-foot, state-of-theart facility, the center serves as the hub for
the company's R&D, and an incubator for
engineering creativity and innovation. The
facility is gold LEED certified and contains
state-of-the-art conference rooms,
engineering labs, and modern health and
wellness facilities, including a gym and
cafeteria. It houses more than 1,400
engineers and other staff-a large portion
of the company's technical workforce-but
significantly, it also serves as a resource
to support innovation at other company
facilities around the world.
The center was designed from the insideout to facilitate creativity and innovation.
For example, it includes an Ideation Space,
a large room that is very different from
a normal workspace-one that encourages
people to think differently. It has exterior
glass walls, no tables, and features
stimulating color schemes such as lighting

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CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3

Contents
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - Cover1
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - Cover2
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - 1
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - Contents
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - 3
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - 4
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - 5
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CTO Straight Talk - Issue 3 - Cover4
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