I love reading The Wall Street Journal from cover-to-cover every day. Where else can you find an article on the importance of sandpaper and a quote from the 3M CEO, “Why can’t abrasives be sexy?” (Nov.1,2010)
I share this with you because the real gist of the article is not just how 3M spent three years trying to improve one of basic products, sandpaper (they did it by using new technology to make every 
For any company to be successful, a substantial portion of its sales must come from products less than 5 years old. We give examples of Disney and Cisco as industry leaders, with almost 50% of sales from new services or goods. 3M falls just under this, expecting 30% of its sales to come from products introduced in the last 5 years. This places it in what we call the “top third”.
CEO George Buckley believes his firm’s edge is due to spending 5-6% of sales on R&D, even during the recession. On average, US manufacturers spent 3.4% of sales on R&D in 2008.
What other “sexy” products is 3M pursuing? Its masking tape, an old standby, now comes with an edge lock that keeps paint from seeping under the tape, which could spoil the straight line. 3M knows it must keep those improvements coming to stay in the top third.
Discussion questions:
1. Discuss the success rate for introducing new products in the marketplace.
2. What other approach is 3M taking to boost sales?
3. Where do new product ideas come from?