Any investment in innovation must be made with a long term approach in mind. That was the message from Mr Steve Ballmer, CEO of software powerhouse Microsoft. "There is a view that innovation happens overnight and that is simply not the case. It took us eight to ten years to get Windows popular, and many years to get databases popular".

Mr Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and IDA's Distinguished Infocomm Speaker, gave a lively and energetic speech on innovation, using IT as an enabling tool and the need to invest in people

In town as a speaker of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) Distinguished Infocomm Speaker (DIS) series, Mr Ballmer shared his views on innovation and establishing a culture willing to look to the long term for returns adding that Microsoft spent US$6 billion on research and development (R&D) each year.

"You have to be patient and take a long-term approach if you want to be an innovator. While it's important to embrace disruption with speed and agility, most good ideas don't mature perfectly overnight. Successful organisations balance disruptive innovation with a patient, long-term approach," Mr Ballmer explained.

But Mr Ballmer also said that you do not have to be first to market with a solution to be successful, saying, "While the best innovation is where you dream of something before anyone else does and you build it before anyone else does. The truth of the matter is, for most companies, you are not going to be the first with every idea, and so it's important to recognize that there is great innovation value to those who come second to a market, and refine and improve upon the basic concept."

In line with this, Mr Ballmer said that was important to have the right type of shareholders who believed in the same vision for the company. He added that he tells his shareholders that they have to invest in the long term which is at least three to seven years.

Investing in the right people is also one of the keys to success. "In our business, people are our greatest asset," he said, adding that nurturing good people should complement technological leaps forward.

During the Q&A session that followed his speech, Mr Ballmer touched on various aspects of his management style, work-life balance and his vision of the future

"At Microsoft, we make sure we hire the best people. Even our cleaning staff," Mr Ballmer said, "when we hire our cleaning staff, I tell our guys to make sure that they're smarter than the cleaning guys down the road!"

Mr Ballmer added that at Microsoft, they make sure that their employees feel and remain passionate about their jobs. Quoting one of his staff who was offered a job at another vendor who promised him that he could spend at least 20% of his time working on projects that interested him, the employee turned them down saying that at Microsoft, he was working on what he loved a 100% of the time.

Ultimately, Mr Ballmer said, technology is an enabler. "Information technology is a powerful tool to let people do great things more efficiently and effectively in less time. Great companies and organisations put the right tools in front of their people so they can do great work," he concluded.

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