A project team from Stanley Black & Decker, a US$12.7 billion diversifed manufacturing frm, noticed something problematic when observingcustomers using the company’s products at constructionsites. Tools such as miter saws and table saws neededhigher voltage than the 20-volt systems commonly usedfor hand tools such as drills and circular saws. As aresult, contractors were using extension cords or gasolinegenerators. But the former were inconvenient and createdhazards, and the latter brought noise and pollution. Aftermaking these observations, Stanley Black & Deckerdeveloped the DeWalt line of “FlexVolt” cordless powertools and battery packs. They’ve been quickly embracedby professional contractors — generating $300 million inincremental sales since the line’s 2016 introduction.What the Top Innovators Get Right With careful attention to six keyareas, companies can make themost of their R&D investment andoutpace the competition. by Barry Jaruzelski, Robert Chwalik, and Brad GoehleBarry Jaruzelskibarry.jaruzelski@pwc is a thought leader on innovationfor Strategy&, PwC’s strategyconsulting business. Based inFlorham Park, N.J., he is a prin- cipal with PwC US. He works withhigh-tech and industrial clientson corporate and product strate- gy and the transformation of coreinnovation processes. He createdthe Global Innovation 1000 studyin 2005, and in 2013 was namedone of the “Top 25 Consultants”by Consulting magazine. Robert Chwalikrobert.t.chwalik@pwc is an advisor to executives in theautomotive, industrials, and oiland gas sectors for Strategy&,helping them improve both top- line growth and bottom-line per- formance in such key operationaland strategic areas as globalengineering and product innova- tion. He is a principal with PwCUS and is based in New York. Brad Goehlebrad.goehle@pwc is an advisor to executives oninnovation and product devel- opment for Strategy&, helpingcompanies in the aerospace and defense, automotive, and in- dustrial sectors with product andportfolio strategy, engineering,and enterprise transformation.He is a managing director with PwC US and is based inArlington, Va. “Cords are one of the biggest pain points on a construction jobsite,” saysStephen M. Subasic, vice president of human resources at the company’s globaltools and storage unit. “Our customers were telling our teams they wanted morecordless options.” But end-users had an additional constraint: They had madelarge investments in existing 20-volt tools and were unwilling to give them up.The FlexVolt system solved the problem. “We were able to marry some emergingtechnologies in motors and batteries so that the FlexVolt system automaticallyadjusts to the voltage of the tool,” says Subasic. “It’s a single-battery platform thataddresses the pain point, and spans both the next generation and the currentgeneration of tools.” Few companies are able to bring this kind of rapid breakthrough innovationfrom concept to market success. But Stanley Black & Decker has consistentlydeveloped winning products for years, and has been doing so while spendingits R&D dollars more effciently than its industry peers. In this year’s GlobalInnovation 1000 study — our annual analysis of the 1,000 publicly held com- panies that spend the most on research and development (R&D) — we look ata subset of companies like Stanley that we call “high-leverage innovators.” Theseare companies that outperformed their industry groups on seven key measuresof fnancial success for the previous fve years, while at the same time spendingless on R&D as a percentage of sales (see “2017 High-Leverage Innovators”; toexplore the 2007, 2012, and 2017 high-leverage innovator lists in an interactiveformat, visit strategy-business/topinnovators).Achieving high performance is diffcult in any given year, and remarkably(continued on page 5) 。。。。。。