Innovation. Revolutionary. Industry changing. All big marketing words used to promote products and new ideas. But look under the hood and most likely it is a new package design, reformatted product formula, or just a better design of the original product. Not bad by any means because some of these are actually good. A new environmental package that uses less waste... great! A new formated soap that costs less to make and cleans better without phosphates... great again!! A better designed phone that uses touch screen technology and comes with a web based application store that developers can use the phones operating system to make cool and sometimes useful tools that work on the phone... super great!!! But what about a real revolutionary game changing idea. How do you do that, and what does a product look like that is revolutionary? What kind of company actually exists today that is making these revolutionary products?
Lets go back to Rochester Institute of Technology, when I was trying to survive college and pop out the other side with a degree and ultimately a job, to a little class we had called Creative Sources. It was a class that actually taught you how to be more creative. The class was one of our electives but now I wish it was a major and everyone going through college no matter the degree had to major in it. We had to do small little "art projects" that taught us how to improve our creativity. Here is one that stands out. Take a simple object, hold it out in front of you and in a dozen images draw the object getting closer to you. You will be graded on the range of far to close you depict in those dozen images. At the time it just seemed like another one of these silly little exercises we did each week. In fact, with such a demanding major I had, this class was always..."aaahhhgg I forgot about Creative Sources." Now I never forget. You see that silly little exercise when hung up for critique was very powerful. It taught that you can take a simple object and change the way you look at it by just moving it closer or pushing it farther away. When drawn on paper where the paper acts as a frame of reference the object changes to something else completely. By looking at something in a different way you change it into something completely different.
Here is a real world example. The mechanical movement of air. My first job out of college I worked for a farm equipment manufacturer. The whole concept of harvesting grain is to throw the grain into air, separating the chaff from the bran. Just taking a handful of grain and tossing it into air and catching it in a basket works and did so for thousands of years. But with mechanization now you can toss whole fields into a machine and huge volumes of air will handle millions of grain pieces. And it was all done with fans the size of a one story building using huge amounts of power. And so fans, blades twisted at angles that spun on a shaft, became an engineering speciality. You don't think much about it... fans have been fans since the industrial revolution. The first fan was a large paddle that hung from a ceiling and a servant pulled a chain to move it. Now the computer you are reading this on uses small fans to cool the electronics. Airplanes fly because huge fans in turbines draw the plane through the air. Boats use fans shaped like propellers to screw the boat through the water. And so the fan has become a part of life. There are small issues with using paddles to move air mostly around something called buffeting. The air can not move at a constant velocity. You feel the paddles in the air blowing out of a house fan. And when put to industrial use where a constant stream of air is needed so are skilled engineers to design fans that meet the needs of the application.
The other day I saw a fan that completely rocked my world. Not because it is beautiful, and it is, but because it has no blades. It used a circular ring that has a chamber extruded through it and using a process that is loosely explained (most likely for patent reasons) passes air into this channel which excellerates air 15 times the input. Huge. Revolutionary. And a small vacuum cleaner company called Dyson did it. How? Why?
I am not employed at Dyson. I do not own stock, I do not know anyone that works there, I do not even own one of their products. But I have seen enough to convince me of the following. Design, creativity, innovation are at the top of their corporate values, mission statement, company culture... whatever HR sanctioned buzz word Dyson calls it. AND most importantly the owner of the company is a creative problem solver, and then a CEO. In fact he is most likely a CEO way after he is anything else. Imagine with me what it must have been like when the first person at the company said... "What if we made a fan without blades?" Imagine at your company what would happen if someone said... "What if we [insert far out crazy off the wall idea here]." At most every company in the world choose a response from the following: a)can not do it, b)we never did it, c)they have not done it yet, d)the boss will not like it, e)my wife will not like it, f)the customer will not buy it, g)we will need to do a huge focus group and that will cost too much money... the list could go on and on. But because Dyson has a top down problem solving culture... someone said, "Hey not a bad idea. How would you do it, you know, actually design it and make it?" Dyson asked questions all centered around my old Creative Sources class, how can you look at something from a different angle using a frame of reference that allows the view to change what you are seeing. Thus creating something completely new never before imagined and in fact never before even thought needed such a radical improvement. A fan with no blades that moves a constant velocity of air. And looks really cool doing it.
Now I have no idea if this fan will be a market success. I actually invented a product that won all kinds of awards and it was a huge market bomb. But I learned something and went on to design all kinds of things that made a successful impact on the company. Failure is acceptable and Dyson has had its share of those. Apple needed the Newton to make the iPhone. Dyson's new fan, or air multiplier, has potential far beyond a simple house hold fan. If this thing can actually amplify air flow output at 15 times input, industrial and other air moving applications are just around the corner.
Check out Dysons' new fan here.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The End of Innocence
Last November my wife’s twenty something year old niece Mary (not her real name) moved into our house. She was going through a transition and wanted to get out of an oppressive living arrangement. She communicated to us that she wanted to change her life, get a better job and then move on. I understood this to be a short term arrangement and decided lets do it, lets help her out.
Mary was living with her sister in a neighboring town. Her sister was pregnant out of wedlock and needed help during her pregnancy. Mary was then living in NYC with a guy she met off the Internet and moved back to New England to help her sister. Both were working for an online porn site. Mary was doing contract booking but her sister was far more involved in the entertainment side of the operation.
When Mary moved into our house she continued to work for the online porn site. She was not happy about the job but since she dropped out of high school this was the most consistent work she could find. My wife started giving her some job leads. But as her time continued with us it became obvious she was not interested in actually looking for other work. Or she did not understand what it took to actually go out and find another job. Mary’s income puts her below the poverty line. One big problem, she cannot afford a car. So her cousin gave her his car. It is not in great shape but it runs. After spending a whole winter cooped up in our house it was good to see her get out. But as I found out Mary did not have the where with all to understand how to go about dealing with insurance so my wife had to step in. It took her months to get this car on the road because she lacked the social skills to work through the problems.
Mary also was introduced to subsidized health care. My wife helped her apply to the State to receive this care. She needed health care for her online job. Mary told my wife that her health care she was receiving from the State offered her better coverage than the jobs she was applying for. Mary is only in her early twenties but she is extremely obese and has medical conditions that are a direct result of her obesity. Her choice of food is horrible; she consumes mostly process food with high levels of sugar and eats out at places with unbelievable fat and calorie content. She told my wife that she has so many health problems it doesn’t matter what she eats.
Mary is also dealing with emotional issues around men. Her father was very uninvolved in her up bringing and told her she would never amount to anything. He also compared her unfavorably with her sister. This has become a problem as she tries to find a man to replace the fatherly love she wanted as a child. And that is not the way to find love as an adult. One day when I came home the guy she left in NYC, whom she meet on the Internet was at the house. She just invited him to stay a week. She never told my wife. It turns out this guy does not have a job. He dropped out of college and has been unemployed for a few years. And his mother approved of that, saying he did not have to find work.
After about 7 months of her living in our house I made some conclusions. Mary does not have the drive or ambition to change her live. She sleeps until noon and sometimes 3 pm. She does not have the self-control to change her life style. I am subsidizing her housing and her health care. I work and pay lots of taxes. If she is going to live in my house she will have to start living with my rules. First thing no more guys sleeping over. My wife and I do not run a boarding house. She also has to start actively looking for a job. And she has to start making better food choices. I started the new order by telling her no guys sleeping here. And I explained you can not just invite guys into this house. Also your friend from NYC has no job and that means I was subsidizing his living while he was staying here. This did not sit with her but on we went. Then one day I was going through the refrigerator and found whip cream in a bottle and a bunch of ice cream. I told myself no wonder she is obese eating this crap. I threw out her whipped cream and ice cream. Next time I saw her I told her as long as she is living in my house she needs to get her eating in order. No more junk food in my house as long as she is living here. And starting this Saturday big changes, you are going to start actively searcingh for a job. I will help you with resume writing and job search. And we are going to start exercising. You need to exercise; you do nothing but sit around all day and sleep way to long. I will show you how to use all the equipment in the basement. You have a free gym right in the house take advantage of it. Remember you said you wanted to change your life that is why you moved in here.
The next day, after 7 months, she packed up her things and moved out. She is going to move back to NYC and live with the guy she was living with down there before. She wrote us a note, obviously unhappy with the rules. She had thought that when she moved in she was not going to get any lifestyle pressure from my wife and I. And I thought she was going to use this opportunity to change her lifestyle around.
I add this post to demonstrate that you need to take action for your life. You need to make every minute on this planet count. You are living in America consuming energy that cannot be replaced. Your actions directly effect the future generations of our planet. If you are not taking care of your health you are placing an undo burden on everyone that contributes to health care costs. Freedom does not mean do whatever you please. Freedom means do what is best for yourself and everyone on the planet.
Mary was living with her sister in a neighboring town. Her sister was pregnant out of wedlock and needed help during her pregnancy. Mary was then living in NYC with a guy she met off the Internet and moved back to New England to help her sister. Both were working for an online porn site. Mary was doing contract booking but her sister was far more involved in the entertainment side of the operation.
When Mary moved into our house she continued to work for the online porn site. She was not happy about the job but since she dropped out of high school this was the most consistent work she could find. My wife started giving her some job leads. But as her time continued with us it became obvious she was not interested in actually looking for other work. Or she did not understand what it took to actually go out and find another job. Mary’s income puts her below the poverty line. One big problem, she cannot afford a car. So her cousin gave her his car. It is not in great shape but it runs. After spending a whole winter cooped up in our house it was good to see her get out. But as I found out Mary did not have the where with all to understand how to go about dealing with insurance so my wife had to step in. It took her months to get this car on the road because she lacked the social skills to work through the problems.
Mary also was introduced to subsidized health care. My wife helped her apply to the State to receive this care. She needed health care for her online job. Mary told my wife that her health care she was receiving from the State offered her better coverage than the jobs she was applying for. Mary is only in her early twenties but she is extremely obese and has medical conditions that are a direct result of her obesity. Her choice of food is horrible; she consumes mostly process food with high levels of sugar and eats out at places with unbelievable fat and calorie content. She told my wife that she has so many health problems it doesn’t matter what she eats.
Mary is also dealing with emotional issues around men. Her father was very uninvolved in her up bringing and told her she would never amount to anything. He also compared her unfavorably with her sister. This has become a problem as she tries to find a man to replace the fatherly love she wanted as a child. And that is not the way to find love as an adult. One day when I came home the guy she left in NYC, whom she meet on the Internet was at the house. She just invited him to stay a week. She never told my wife. It turns out this guy does not have a job. He dropped out of college and has been unemployed for a few years. And his mother approved of that, saying he did not have to find work.
After about 7 months of her living in our house I made some conclusions. Mary does not have the drive or ambition to change her live. She sleeps until noon and sometimes 3 pm. She does not have the self-control to change her life style. I am subsidizing her housing and her health care. I work and pay lots of taxes. If she is going to live in my house she will have to start living with my rules. First thing no more guys sleeping over. My wife and I do not run a boarding house. She also has to start actively looking for a job. And she has to start making better food choices. I started the new order by telling her no guys sleeping here. And I explained you can not just invite guys into this house. Also your friend from NYC has no job and that means I was subsidizing his living while he was staying here. This did not sit with her but on we went. Then one day I was going through the refrigerator and found whip cream in a bottle and a bunch of ice cream. I told myself no wonder she is obese eating this crap. I threw out her whipped cream and ice cream. Next time I saw her I told her as long as she is living in my house she needs to get her eating in order. No more junk food in my house as long as she is living here. And starting this Saturday big changes, you are going to start actively searcingh for a job. I will help you with resume writing and job search. And we are going to start exercising. You need to exercise; you do nothing but sit around all day and sleep way to long. I will show you how to use all the equipment in the basement. You have a free gym right in the house take advantage of it. Remember you said you wanted to change your life that is why you moved in here.
The next day, after 7 months, she packed up her things and moved out. She is going to move back to NYC and live with the guy she was living with down there before. She wrote us a note, obviously unhappy with the rules. She had thought that when she moved in she was not going to get any lifestyle pressure from my wife and I. And I thought she was going to use this opportunity to change her lifestyle around.
I add this post to demonstrate that you need to take action for your life. You need to make every minute on this planet count. You are living in America consuming energy that cannot be replaced. Your actions directly effect the future generations of our planet. If you are not taking care of your health you are placing an undo burden on everyone that contributes to health care costs. Freedom does not mean do whatever you please. Freedom means do what is best for yourself and everyone on the planet.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
THE MESSAGE OF THE GEORGIA GUIDESTONES
1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite.
10.Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature.
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