The latter two thrusts required a heavy emphasis on exploratory research and new business development, and thus, in spite of financial difficulties, R&D spending was maintained at 10 percent of sales revenue. A number of new opportunities and strategic arenas were identified and assessed, and the most promising were exploited. The results were impressive: By 2008, major innovations had been realized in each of Corning’s businesses, including the creation of four new business platforms and exploitation of three major market adjacencies. New product sales had rocketed to 70 percent of annual sales, and profits moved from minus $500 million to plus $2 billion after taxes.
The example of Corning offers some important strategic lessons for today, as we emerge from the current re- cession. As the Corning case illustrates, an innovation strategy is an essential tool for product development and continued growth even in difficult times.
Indeed, our research has shown that top-performing businesses have in place a product innovation and technology strategy driven by the business leadership team and a strategic vision of the business