FCW.com recently conducted an interview with Judy Estrin, current CTO at Cisco Systems. Her opinion is that Science and Technological Innovation have been the main reason for U.S. economic growth in the past, however, the current climate is not continuing to foster this type of atmosphere. In her book, "Closing the Innovation Gap", she discusses the importance of innovation, and how it is imperative for the U.S. to start on the path of cultivating innovation once more, as we discussed in this previous post. One of the points she makes in the interview conducted by FCW is:
"If you want sustainable innovation, which is really what we need to drive the economy, it's not enough to have exciting new products. The iPod is a wonderful device, but in and of itself, is not enough to drive the economy. What you need is innovation in lots of different areas. You need breakthrough types of innovation like the Internet, whether it's to drive the economy, to improve the quality of life, or to solve some of the major challenges that we have as a nation and a planet."
What are your thoughts on her perspective?