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Who’s
on Your R&D Team?
by Adele Sommers
Perhaps we should
start by asking, “What is an ‘R&D
team’?” R&D stands for research and
development — of ideas, products, services, standards,
best practices, methods, philosophies, education, training,
or any type of intellectual property.
You might have conjured
up an image of corporate scientists huddled in a  laboratory
late at night, tinkering with proprietary product ideas
behind locked doors.
In stark contrast,
today’s R&D teams can sprout anywhere
and be run by anyone, at any time,
for any purpose — including yours
or mine! Our virtual world offers a plethora of opportunities
to initiate or participate on an R&D team.
Anyone who has
worked on projects alone or with others has probably
wished for the opportunity to vet new ideas through
a supportive group of people who can provide constructive,
candid comments. This article offers an overview of
what R&D teams do, how they work, what to expect
if and when you choose to start or participate on a
team, and what’s in it for you as a contributor.
What Do
R&D Teams Do?
My research revealed
that R&D teams act as a think tank, providing
feedback and strategic input for designing, developing,
testing, and refining something. The teams run by entrepreneurs
and professional associations often operate entirely
in a virtual mode. Participants might be asked
to do things such as:
- Validate or constructively criticize a new idea,
proposal, draft, or mockup.
- Accelerate the creative process by helping to brainstorm,
invent, or pioneer.
- Guide, shape, and refine tools, systems, programs,
or other intellectual
 property.
- Offer candid advice, feedback, opinions, suggestions,
reactions, corrections, strategies, or solutions to
problems.
- Visualize and co-create a new organization.
How Do R&D
Teams Work?
A person or business
that decides to kick off an R&D team (the R&D
team leader) may issue a general invitation, such as
through a mailing list or a Web site. The team might
support the launching of a new product, for example,
or help evaluate ideas on an ongoing basis.
Participation
is voluntary, which means that compensation to contributors
entails primarily intrinsic rewards rather than monetary
ones. One major reward would be working to produce a
visible result in an area of burning interest. Team
leaders also can offer certain tangible or non-tangible
benefits to team members (more below).
 Virtual
R&D teams usually “meet” to discuss
ideas via electronic means — e-mail, telephone
conferencing, or Web conferencing. Participants might
receive e-mail requests up to several times per month,
depending on the project’s needs. Not every project
will necessarily interest every team member; participants
generally pick and choose.
Communications among
team members might be direct and simultaneous,
such as via teleconferences, or indirect, such
as in a written summary form. In the latter case, participants
might receive a periodic digest of ideas and feedback
that had been submitted by e-mail.
Team members should
expect to follow certain ethical standards regarding
the confidentiality of information and proprietary material.
R&D team members might even be asked to sign a nondisclosure
agreement.
Participants typically
agree to allow the person or business that commissioned
the team to use, adapt, modify, and incorporate their
contributions into the materials without anticipating
any recognition or compensation. That person or business
will usually hold the claim to any copyrights, trademarks,
patents, and commercial benefits that relate to or result
from the intellectual property under development.
How Do R&D
Team Members Benefit?
So, what’s
in it for you, if you’re participating on an R&D
team rather than running one?
With respect to
topics of great interest to you — whether those
are wiping out world hunger, improving the lives of
abandoned pets, launching a new professional society,
or increasing customer retention — working behind
the scenes to make a difference can produce its own
profoundly satisfying payoff.
 You
might be invited to contribute to an ongoing virtual
discussion forum, filled with divergent viewpoints
from around the country or around the globe. Sessions
might be highly philosophical and populated with Big
Ideas.
It’s likely
that you’ll have access to beneficial programs,
products, or other materials that you’ll be asked
to review and critique. You may be exposed to a rich
medley of concepts and original thinkers who will stimulate
your own creative juices, leading you to spawn your
own unique products, services, organizations, and R&D
teams.
Further, you might
participate in compelling collaboration opportunities,
receive product or service discounts, or take advantage
of other tangible benefits.
Last but not least,
you could experience a sense of camaraderie, oneness,
and higher purpose unlike anything you've ever
felt or experienced before. The best part about the
R&D team opportunity is that you can make new associations
and alliances that last a lifetime.
Copyright 2005 Adele Sommers
Want to include this article in your newsletter
or Web site? You can, as long as you include this
blurb with it: Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is the creator of
the award-winning "Straight Talk on Boosting Business
Performance" success system. To learn more about
this step-by-step program, and to access her many no-cost
articles and resources, visit LearnShareProsper.com.
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