How Candy Makers Helped Develop the iMac

I love it when companies are able to find solutions to problems in non-traditional places.

I was recently at a conference where someone said that Apple was having difficulty making the clear, colored plastic that adorns the iMac. None of the plastic manufacturers could find a solution that could make the product hard and durable enough.

Where did they look for solutions?

Candy manufacturers.  They can make hard and clear delights in a lot of different colors…just like the iMac.

When you are stuck and can’t solve a problem, look somewhere else.

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Lessons of Pawn Stars

Yes, you read that correctly.  PAWN Stars.

This reality television show on The History Channel chronicles a pawn shop outside of Las Vegas.  I enjoy the show because of the history associated with the pieces that are brought in for sale.  In addition to rifles from the revolutionary war and antique political documents, people bring in some unusual items like old videos games, dilapidated cars, and various novelty items.

After watching the show a bit, I gathered four practical lessons that Rick Harrison, the owner, uses when purchasing items:

1. Liking/wanting an item does not make it a good purchase; it must make money
2. Just because something is rare does not make it valuable
3. Look at the size and analyze if something else could make more money in the same space
4. Speed of sale is critical; consider the buyer’s market.  In down times, luxury items sell slower

These are also good lessons for any innovator.  Here are the innovation corollaries to the Pawn Star buying principles:

1. Do not get enamored with your ideas.  Just because something “feels” good does not make it a good investment.  Innovators often get “attached” to their creations and then blindly push forward.  Knowing which ideas will create money is critical.  Knowing which ideas to kill is a powerful skill.
2. Just because it is different does not make it valuable.  Recognize that novelty does not translate to value.  If you don’t have any buyers and it does not serve a specific need, you should not invest in it.  This is not a game of “innovation for innovation’s sake.” Too many companies say they want to innovate, but don’t really know why or how.
3. Not all innovations are created equal.  What solutions can create exponential value?  What are the leverage points in your market?  What products or services could transform your industry?  Although you don’t want to only “swing for the fences” (that is, don’t solely focus on game changers; incremental innovation is also critical), make sure you invest your resources wisely with a balanced portfolio and a good risk/return profile.
4. Above all, consider the buyer.  This is innovation 101.  The market must tell you where to invest.  In today’s economic condition, solving a pain is more important than providing an abstract benefit. In other words, be the aspirin for your customers’ pains.

Insights can be gathered from anywhere. Today I looked to a pawn shop. In the past, I was inspired by an expired bottle of mayo. Where else have you discovered new ways of thinking?  Innovation is everywhere.

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One Small Step for Your Business, One Giant Leap for Success

Quite a few books and studies recently have touted the power of incremental change. Small actions can have a huge impact on long-term business growth.

The appropriate degree of change needed for innovating within organizations is, in general, a 45-degree change, consistent but not too radical. That tends to be more effective than a 5-degree change (purely incremental) or a 90-degree change (radical).

Feeling good about it

People feel good when they accomplish something, even if it is small.

If you increase motivation, you improve overall performance and creativity, according to Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School professor. In The Progress Principle, she makes a compelling case for why small successes contribute to motivation.

Small changes implemented over a long period of time compound their value and are the keys to long-term success, according to Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success Magazine. His book, The Compound Effect illustrates his perspective.

A good example of the compound effect is a slow and steady approach to weight loss, which has more sustainable results. Instead of trying to lose weight quickly through restrictive diets, become aware of the foods you put in your mouth. This awareness helps you make small adjustments, which have a significant impact in the long term.

We’ve all heard about compounding when you’re investing in retirement accounts. Start early, even if you invest small quantities, to take advantage of compounding.

Getting it done

An old study compared Japanese cost-reduction programs to similar ones in the United States. Japanese companies on average had 300 times more suggestions per employee, yet the average value associated with each idea was only 1/50 that of the U.S. companies. However, in the end, the Japanese companies saved 20 times more per employee than the U.S. companies.

This report indicates why so many idea-driven innovation initiatives fail. Instead of asking for small, incremental changes that we can implement quickly with little or no funding, most U.S. efforts ask for larger changes that require time and investment. The Japanese companies had a rate of adoption and implementation almost three times higher, with an eight times higher participation rate.

Making small changes to great effect

Making small changes is a good habit for companies and individuals to adopt. I developed a very simple technique called “3-cubed 30.”

In a nutshell, three times a week, implement three activities to help your business grow. Each of these should take less than 30 minutes. The investment per week is a maximum of 4.5 hours, yet the benefits can be huge. In reality, it will only take about two hours most weeks to complete all nine tasks.

Here’s what this looks like in my business…

Read the rest of this article on the American Express OPEN Forum

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My 2012 Themes Revealed

Anyone who follows this blog knows that the New Year is my favorite time for reflecting on the past and creating the future.

If you have not read my article on “Making Resolutions That Work,” please do so.  Or, if you prefer, you can read the variant of this article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal exactly one year ago today by clicking on the image.

The general premise is that instead of setting resolutions that are specific goals (e.g., lose 10 pounds), you want to create themes that help guide you and your decision making throughout the year.

After spending a week of reflection, I have settled upon three themes:

• More Money, Less Work, Greater Impact – This is my business theme.  In particular, I expect to create passive income revenue streams (i.e., make money in my sleep) through repurposing my content and levering channel partners.  By doing this, I can then focus my energies on activities that will have the greatest impact on business and society.
• Rituals – I usually joke that I lack discipline, so I considered that as my theme.  But “discipline” sounds so harsh and not something that inspires me.  Then it hit me.  While on vacation recently I had some rituals (e.g., reading an inspirational passage upon waking or drinking tea before going to sleep) that I loved.  I realized I could treat “the things I need to do” as rituals.  If I think of writing, calling clients, managing the books, and other tasks as rituals, maybe they will inspire me more.
• Perfect – This theme may seem a bit odd.  But when on vacation (reflecting on my theme for the year), I used the word “perfect” at least 100 times to describe the trip.  I realized that perfect is a state of mind.  When you declare things to be perfect, they are perfect.  How you see things gives you the reality.  Therefore, by declaration, 2012 will be “perfect.”

These themes get me excited about the New Year.  They also make activities that might have seemed tedious, more enjoyable (in particular the ritual theme).

What are your themes for 2012?

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My Favorite Blog Posts of 2011

Given that we are in a new year, I thought it might be nice to reflect on the past year.  So today I want to share with you my favorite blog entries from 2011.  I chose my top 10 for three categories: 1)innovation & creativity, 2) general business, and 3) life and happiness.  Admittedly, the articles I like most tend to come from the last category as they are more personal in nature.

The articles are not listed in any particular order, but the asterisks do indicate the crème de la crème (in my humble opinion).

And don’t forget, these only represent the entries from 2011.  I have been writing since January 2005 (7 years) and have over 500 articles on this blog.

I welcome any and all comments (e.g, if I missed one you liked, or if one should be taken off the list).  Enjoy!

TOP 10 INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY ARTICLES

1. *** Freedom Can Limit Innovation
2. *** My ABC News Interview (and other media)
3. *** My Article in Southwest Airlines Magazine
4. *** Ask a Different Question, Get a Different Answer
5. *** Ideas, Ideas Everywhere…
6. Why Brainstorming is Stupid
7. What I Learned From an Expired Bottle of Mayo (AMEX OPEN Forum)
8. Is Thinking Choking Your Creativity? (AMEX OPEN Forum)
9. Stop Asking for Ideas (AMEX OPEN Forum)
10. Why Edison Was Wrong (AMEX OPEN Forum)

1. *** How to Publish a Book in 2 Weeks (AMEX OPEN Forum)
2. *** Before You Can Multiply You Must First Learn to Divide (AMEX OPEN FORUM)
3. *** Your Customers Are Cynics (AMEX OPEN Forum)
4. *** I Won’t Work for Money
5. *** Why You Should Work with People You Don’t Like (AMEX OPEN Forum)
6. How to Create a Happy Work Environment (AMEX OPEN Forum)
7. Tactics for Captivating Your Audience (AMEX OPEN Forum)
8. 7 Strategies for Running Your Business While Pursing Your Passions (AMEX OPEN Forum)
9. The Performance Paradox (Idea Connection)
10. How I Used Crowdsourcing the Wrong Way And What You Can Learn From It (AMEX OPEN Forum)

TOP 10 LIFE AND HAPPINESS ARTICLES

1. *** Balance of Work and Life is a Myth (AMEX OPEN Forum)
2. *** How to Embrace and Conquer Pain (AMEX OPEN Forum)
3. *** How to Always Be On Time (AMEX OPEN Forum)
4. *** When You Sit on the Fence, You Get Splinters in Your Ass! (AMEX OPEN Forum)
5. *** How to Be Selfless by Being Self-Centered (AMEX OPEN Forum)
6. *** How Losing Personal Attachments Can Help You Realize Ambition (AMEX OPEN Forum)
7. *** How to Create Luck in Business and Life (AMEX OPEN Forum)
8. The Key to Immediate Happiness (AMEX OPEN Forum)
9. Is It OK To Marry Your Work - part 1 (AMEX OPEN Forum)
10. Is It OK To Marry Your Work - part 2

 

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