Get Fresh Minds

Don't hold onto your ideas!

What was the last amazing idea that you had?  Did you tell anyone?  Did you write it down? Or is it still up there, waiting for the absolute perfect moment?

If it's still up there, have you thought of any fantastic new ideas lately? Or are you so afraid of losing your One Great Idea that you've locked down your brain?

One of the best ways to keep your mind thinking of new ideas is to regularly clear out the old ones.  Why? Because our minds can only focus on a finite amount of information at one time. 

By keeping old ideas around, your idea pipeline will quickly become clogged and your creativity will slow to a trickle.   If the backup is really bad, you might even get completely stuck!

To prevent idea blockage, keep an idea notebook or create a file or email your ideas to yourself or whatever works best for you.  But for goodness sake, get those great old ideas out of your head so you can bring new ones in!

Can a new idea be too far ahead of its time?

In 1972, my grandfather invented the color copying machine.  Don't believe me? It's true.  Unfortunately, he doesn't get any credit for what is now a multi-million dollar industry.

There's a simple reason for this. 

When my grandpa and his co-workers designed the first color copier at 3M in the early 1970s, they were on the leading edge of printing technology. 

In fact, their invention was so innovative and forward-thinking that it was a complete and total failure in the marketplace.  No one wanted it.  No one.

It didn't take 3M long to ditch the color copy machine.

Then, four years later, Xerox came out with their color copy machine. (Ah, you know where this is going? Wrong.)  That failed horribly as well.

Why?  Because in the 1970s, most companies didn't even have color printers!  No one had anything of color to copy!

Luckily, Xerox was willing to let the underachieving color copier limp through years and years of lackluster sales until businesses actually became interested in it.  And when demand did pick up, Xerox was ready to take full advantage of it.

Today, the color copier is a common fixture in business, schools and government buildings.  People even have color copiers in their homes.  Although Xerox doesn't make all the color copiers on sale today, they still carry plenty of name recognition.

So why did 3M lose out? They were first to market, but they had created an invention without considering their potential customers. 

Yes, in the 1970s, it would be very cool and leading edge for businesses to be able to make copies of colored document in house.  Unfortunately,  when it came to writing out the purchase reports, the demand simply wasn't there.  Businesses could not justify spending thousands of dollars to buy a machine that they would use only a couple times a month.

This is a problem that is rampant today as well.  Technical companies and engineers work really hard to create ahead-of-their-time features without checking to see if anyone is ready to buy.

Tell me, do you know of any new and amazing products or product features that are technologically impressive, but don't fulfill an existing need? Fingerprint scanners on personal computers, anyone?

Can Lush make life easier for frequent fliers?

Lush is a handmade cosmetics company that specializes in using fresh ingredients to create exotic, fragrant soaps and other toiletries. 

Their products, if I do say so myself, are fabulous and, according to Fast Company magazine, the company loves innovating and constantly challenges itself to change a full 1/3 of it's product line every year. 

That means they need to create at least 100 totally new products in a 12 month period, and they do that by relying, in part, on significant input from their customers.

Yes, Lush is a company that gets innovation and how to create a customer base.  They have stores in over 35 countries, over $100 million in annual revenue and sell over 60,000 Bath Bombs per day. 

And I think that they're missing a great opportunity.

Last fall, many airlines around the world cracked down on the amounts of liquid that passengers can carry-on.  This seriously inconveniences business travelers (especially women) who don't check luggage.

At the same time, Lush carries a huge line of solid products.  Soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, make-up removing face wash, body lotion, bath bomb and even hair dye.

There are tons of business travelers who are agonizing every day about whether to risk the delays of checked baggage, or attempt to stuff all their essentials into a tiny plastic baggy.

Many of them have never heard of Lush, but would probably be extremely grateful to learn about products that make business travel easier!

Lush should definitely consider going after this new and very desperate target market.

Are your laptop's new features good for you?

As computers become a commodity, manufacturers are scrambling to install new features that will give their laptops a competitive advantage. 

In the race for new high-tech add-ons, however, many companies forget to consider how useful flashy new features will be for the actual users.

Consider two innovations I've recently seen.

The Apple Macbook has a magnetic power connector that automatically detaches when pressure is applied to the cord.

The Toshiba Satellite has a fingerprint scanner designed to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the computer.

Are both of those inventions cool?  Of course.  But do they add value?

As a laptop user, it's not always possible to make sure my power cords are out of harm's way.  Therefore, the magnetic power connector has direct benefits for me as a user. 

It's wonderful to know that, even if someone does trip and yank on the cord, the worst thing that could happen to my laptop would be me forgetting to plug it back in.  The temporarily dead battery would be tragic, of course, but I'm sure I would survive.

On the other hand, I'm not thrilled with the fingerprint scanner.  As I am unfortunately not the CEO of a major corporation nor an exciting high-tech spy, I don't feel that a fingerprint scanner is necessary.

And the possible problems are glaringly obvious.
What if the fingerprint scanner breaks? Then I wouldn't be able to log-on.  What if the laptop breaks and I have to send it in for repair?  Then the repair facility wouldn't be able to log-on unless there's a back door into the computer.

And if there's a back door, wouldn't a hacker be able to figure that out? Then what's the point of a fingerprint scanner?

It feels to me that Toshiba added an expensive new gadget to accomplish a task that could be solved through a simple article in the user's manual about how to choose a very secure password.

Therefore, in conclusion:

Apple's magnetic power connector is a fresh new idea because it has a direct and tangible benefit for the actual computer user.

Toshiba's fingerprint scanner, on the other hand, is a not-so-fresh idea that goes for flash value instead of real value.

Both innovations add on to the cost of the computer. But are both worth the extra cost?  Which would you rather have?

Diversified Thinking at Amherst College

College is a really expensive and essential resume-building experience nowadays. 

Even state schools cost thousands of dollars per year, and private top-flight universities can cost well over $100,000 for a four year degree.  This doesn't make it easy for students, especially those who come from lower-income backgrounds. 

And, as college costs continue to go up, college looks more and more impossible for students in the lowest income brackets. Finally though, a college in Massachusetts is doing something about it. 

According to a May 27, 2007 article in the New York Times, "Elite Colleges Open New Door to Low-Income Youths", Amherst College has welcomed students from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds. Amherst not only covers the full cost of some students education, it also recruiting some low-income students while "taking their socioeconomic background — defined by family income, parents’ education and occupation level — into account when making admissions decisions."

The college also provides:

$400 “start-up grants” for winter coats and sheets and blankets for their dorm rooms, to summer science and math tutoring. At the same time, low-income students are expected to put in at least seven hours a week at $8-an-hour work-study jobs. But they get to use $200 a month in their work-study earnings as spending money to get a haircut, for instance, or go out for pizza with classmates so they don’t feel excluded.

I love this initiative from Amherst for several reasons. 

First, they are doing a very good thing.  The young man profiled in the NY Times article has had a wonderful experience and benefited tremendously from his chance to attend an elite college.

Secondly, they're not approaching the income-divide in the same "take out a loan and apply for scholarships" approach everyone else has.  Amherst is actively problem-solving for the students who don't have a lot of options.

Finally, by opening the college doors to students from all academic backgrounds, Amherst is helping all its students.  The fact is that high-cost colleges typically attract a much larger amount of higher-income students.  The resulting student body, from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, is not good for the thinking of the students.

When everyone has been raised a similar way, they think similarly.  At $48,000/year Amherst, despite their efforts, only 15% of the students come from families making under $45,000 a year.  Other expensive colleges are probably much worse.

To me, the most telling example of the dangers of a standardized student body is shown in the opening paragraph of the NY Times article.

The discussion in the States of Poverty seminar here at Amherst College was getting a little theoretical. Then Anthony Abraham Jack, a junior from Miami, asked pointedly, “Has anyone here ever actually seen a food stamp?” To Mr. Jack, unlike many of his classmates, food stamps are not an abstraction.

He was the only one.  Think about it.  How can a group think effectively and creatively about poverty when they have no experience with it?

Advertising that isn't just hot air!

Just saw this fantastic, fresh advertising idea by Toys R Us at the Bad Banana Blog. Instead of plastering the beach with 2D advertisements, the toy giant turned an advertising column on a beach into an air pump!

I love this idea because not only is it something completely different, it's actually useful! When was the last time an advertisement directly made your life easier? I can't think of a single time.

And that's the brilliance! Now, instead of ignoring Toys R Us' advertising as just another distraction to quickly pull their kids away from, parents will notice it, spend time in front of it, and walk away happy to have seen the advertising.  And I'll bet the parents even tell other parents about it.

What a great way for Toys R Us to prove that it provides an experience above and beyond toy competitors like Walmart.