In this episode, Marc and Mo are joined by special guest Ed Harvey (tenured professor at McGill University and Past-President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association) in a lively discussion on the topic of innovation in the field of orthopaedic surgery. The discussion touches on a number of related questions: • Invention is often confused with innovation. What is the difference? • What is the phenotype of a surgeon-innovator, and how does such an individual differ from a surgeon-scientist or surgeon-educator? • What are the necessary skills and qualities of the surgeon-innovator? How can we identify individuals with these skills, and how can we motivate individuals to develop them? Are people born with these skills, and can these skills be taught? • When is the right time to innovate? Are you ever too young or too old to innovate? • How does the concept of value relate to the concept of innovation? What are the roles of the “3 Ps” (Patient, Physician, and Payor) in achieving commercialization? • How does a surgeon-innovator define “success”? • Why is it important to have an efficient and effective team during the commercialization process? How does the team change over time? • What kind of expertise is needed to navigate the regulatory issues related to innovation? • What are investors and venture capitalists (VCs) ultimately looking for when evaluating an invention? OrthoJOE Mailbag: feedback, comments, and suggestions from our audience can be sent to orthojoe@jbjs.org Links: Schiffman CJ, Prabhakar P, Hsu JE, Shaffer ML, Miljacic L, Matsen FA 3rd. Assessing the Value to the Patient of New Technologies in Anatomic Total Shoulder Arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2021 May 5;103(9):761-770. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.20.01853. PMID: 33587515. Link. Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner/Simon & Schuster. https://www.amazon.com/Grit-Passion-Perseverance-Angela-Duckworth/dp/1501111108