>>> 16 Nov 1998 22:07:04
Subject: industry's driving forces
From:   Anatole Klyosov <aklyosov@WARREN.MED.HARVARD.EDU>

>Money is not everything... Psychology and resistance to change is a very important factor also. In my case I have shown industry that they can earn more money and still no change (Horst Doelle, Australia)

Dear Horst,

Format of this conference does not allow us to go into details, particularly when they are not exactly relevant to the subject. I was merely saying that the ultimate goal of the corporation world is money/profit, not a high yield of the product in a particular process no matter how innovative is the process and how proud is the inventor.  A typical drama is that inventor follows his/her driving force (whatever it is - passion, ego, love to the mankind, demand from the society [how the investor interprets it], etc.), while the industry has its own agenda, not necessarily similar with the investor's one.

What you call "psychology and resistance to change" of your (or whoever) industrial contact, I still call "looking for profit".  They just believe that if they CONTINUE to invest money to wherever they do invest now, their profit will be higher, or at least similar, compared to that with your process. Often, they KNOW that even if they get some profit with your would-be-process, they get a HIGHER profit elsewhere. And often it is true.  Unless your profit is a killer (MONEY!) they would follow that pattern.  And the unhappy investor calls it "resistance to change", despite "they can earn money on my technology".

More often, however, the investor does not even bother to know if the industry would make money on his technology. Why should he, indeed? First, it is not his profession to do accounting or financial planning, and second, he knows that his product/process is "greener" and the society cannot wait for it. Period.

Of course there are zillions of different particular situations, and I would not dare to offer anything new. I personally believe that we, "biofuel" folks, go in the right (generally) direction, and some day we prevail.  With the help of scientists, engineers, politicians, and - yes - the industry and the "resistant" corporations. Some call it "checks and balances" system.

Anatole Klyosov