Many classic, successful products have been invented “by accident” – by an unintended mishap that just happened to turn out to be a brilliant stroke of R&D genius: Penicillin, the microwave, chocolate chip cookies and more.And the stories behind these incidents are always so fun and surprising that they catch our attention and stick in our minds for good.
Here are just a few of the classics. You have no doubt heard them, or similar versions of them, numerous times.
Ivory Soap
In 1878, in a Procter & Gamble soap production factory, one of the employee’s lunch breaks took longer than expected. The whole thing would have gone unnoticed, if not for a malfunction that got out of hand. Continue reading ‘Lucky Engineering Accidents’
This is the second of a series of posts discussing innovation barriers. This series does not intend to encompass all that can be said on the subject. That would take a series of books. It does intend to describe, however, several types of barriers we face when we try to innovate, and some of the innovation methodologies that have been developed to address them.
What is more challenging: coming up with an innovative idea, or sharing it with a group of people that may love it or hate it?Most of us will agree that this is a simple question. We might, however, disagree on the answer… In the previous post in this series I called the group of barriers relating to the act of coming up with innovative idea “Cognitive Barriers.” The complementary group of barriers – those that have to do with sharing innovative ideas with others – were labeled “Psychological Barriers.”
Although people differ in their “susceptibility” to these different barriers, most us will agree that objectively (whatever that means..) the cognitive barriers to innovation are harder to overcome. The importance of the psychological barriers is due, to a great extent, to the fact that some of the best ideas come up during group discussions. The worn-out saying goes: “none of us is as smart as all of us.” While I have several issues with this approach (as, I suspect, you may as well) – there is some truth to it, especially when it comes to ideation sessions.
This is the first of a series of posts discussing innovation barriers. This series will not encompass all that can be said on the subject. That would take a series of books. It will describe, however, several types of barriers we face when we try to innovate. It will also discuss these barriers in relation to the innovation methodologies that have been developed to address them.
Dr. Gadi Segal, a business partner and a good friend, told me once that “the more therapeutic options you have for a disease, the more likely it is that none of them is really effective.”
When I make the analogy to the realm of innovation I hesitate to conclude that none of the innovation methodologies available is really effective… Let’s just agree that the abundance of approaches and technique is indicative of the magnitude of the challenges posed by innovation.
Brainstorming, in my view, is first and foremost a copywriting concept.
Today, whenever someone wants to summon a group of people to think together, he/she invites them to a brainstorming session.
And indeed brainstorming is a great name. It seems to have the effect of charging energy and stimulating enthusiasm in most individuals.
But does it really work? Do the nice ideas of cross-fertilization among team members and suspense of judgment really deliver?
In all the brainstorming sessions that I’ve participated in, I noticed that although the brainstorming techniques were explained, most people reacted to other people’s ideas judgmentally, without displaying even a sign of being “cross-fertilized”.
Think for a minute what is it about the car that allows you to drive fast.
Is it the engine? The tires? The gas tank? Well, yeh. All of the above. But most importantly – it is the breaks. It is the fact that you can stop – that you can effectively reduce your speed – that creates the conditions which allow you to accelerate in the first place.
In SIT, we say that the term NPD stands for New Promise Development, in addition to its more ordinary meaning New Product Development.
We explain that when our customers want us to innovate and bring them something new and exciting, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a product. It could be a new promise, new usages or new packaging for an existing product. A classic example comes from Orbit: Remember when chewing a gum was something you did just to freshen your breathe? Orbit reinvented the chewing gum category by promoting the anti decay benefit of its chewing gum.
We believe that developing new promises is always a great way to innovate, but in a time of recession we may need new promises even more.
Thomas Alva Edison, the renowned inventor, lived in a house with a large front garden and an iron gate at its entrance. It is said that friends who came to visit were both astonished and annoyed to discover that they were forced to push hard to swing open the gate. Time and again, they complained to Thomas to fix the creaking, old gate and Edison kept promising to oil the hinges and spare his guests the trouble, but never delivered. It was only after his death, at a ripe old age (84), that the matter came to light: the gate had been connected to a pump, and each time it was opened, water was pumped into the inventor’s bathtub.
