Thought Leadership: Implementation

Emerging technologies afford profound opportunities for progress.  However, invention by itself does not drive impact.  What is required is the ability to thoughtfully and pragmatically apply a technology to solve a relevant problem in a given domain.  A critical role is played by lead users, inquisitive workers in the trenches who are confronted by the need to a solve specific problem, and inspired by the role an emerging technology might play in addressing this urgent need.   

Inventors create the potential for profound advance; implementers realize the promise.

For more on this theme, see:

"A Drug Is Not An Outcome: Extending Translation Through Implementation Using Real-World Data"  Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2019

"Tech Impact Requires Deep Engagement With Biopharma Lead Users" Timmerman Report, 2020

"The Innovation Delusion Review: Mistaking Novelty For Progress" Wall Street Journal, 2020

"Winning HealthTech Entrepreneurs Will Focus On Implementation, Not Fetishize Invention" Forbes, 2017

"Understanding Precision Medicine and AI Within The Life Cycle of Technology Revolutions" Forbes, 2019

"Hard Lessons for Would-Be Healthcare Innovators from UCSF Expert" Forbes, 2019

"The Value and Necessity of Tinkering" Timmerman Report, 2020

Sluggish Corporate AI Adoption Has Motivated Entrepreneurs To Pick Their Spots Timmerman Report, 2025