It’s interesting how engineering job titles can offer a glimpse into how a company approaches innovation. I’ve spoken with many engineers, and just by hearing their title, I can almost always guess the size of the organization they work for—every single time.
Big Orthopedic Companies: Innovation by Acquisition
In large orthopedic companies, innovation doesn’t typically come from within. Instead, their strategy is centered around acquisitions. Take Stryker, for example. They recently acquired OrthoSensor, a company that develops surgical procedure sensors. Now, Stryker could have developed these sensors internally, but they chose not to. Why? Because fostering innovation internally is no longer embedded in their company culture. Even their engineering job titles reflect this shift.
In large orthopedic firms, most engineers are focused on minimizing mistakes and maintaining systems, rather than pushing the envelope through innovation. The goal for these engineers is compliance and efficiency, not invention. Zimmer, the global leader in joint replacements, is a perfect example. At one point, they employed over 100 remediation engineers in Warsaw, solely to address regulatory and quali...
