Are there language and culture barriers in global innovation?
Language is not a barrier. Culture is not a barrier, either, provided that the company has a strong internal culture of innovation that overrides any other biases—perceived or real. Is there anything our government could do to help global innovation? The best thing this government could do for innovation is to keep the R&D tax credit and liberalize the H1-B [visa] policy to the extent that, if a foreign engineer gets into an institution of higher learning, that person should automatically be given H1-B status. What is the secret to your record of innovation? I’m pleased to say that there is a whole list of talented engineers and scientists at National who have passed me by in the patent count. But there is no great secret to it—just an ability to identify promising new areas and a willingness to commit myself to attacking the most challenging technical problems in those new areas. Out of that foundation comes the opportunity to make useful inventions. What countries do you see as promi
