Edison and Innovation Blog

American Idol, The Next Iron Chef, X-Factor and shows like this have become incredibly popular.  Many different countries around the world have their own show to see who has the most talent and the winner gets a prize and an opportunity to be successful.  Wouldn’t it be great if there were contests like this for innovation?  Imagine millions of people watching and voting every week to see whose innovation would reign supreme.  Well these types of contests do exist, minus the nightly TV show and the commentary by Paula Abdul.

One of these is called America’s Next Top Energy Innovation Challenge.  The voting is now closed, but this contest pitted several different start-ups with different types of innovations.  (To learn more about it click here)  This contest and others like it are great.  They help move innovation along and provide focus and incentives to the innovator.

Unfortunately most of us that are working on innovating are not going to be in a contest.  Nobody is going to create a reality show about our work and follow us around.  Edison stated, “I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing.” His focus was on the innovation and his success was a byproduct of his efforts.  We can gain a lot by following this principle, focus on our innovation and let our success be a byproduct of our efforts.  You don’t have to win a contest to be the next top innovator.

My son was recently in the musical production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at his junior high school. I went to one of the evening performances and was very impressed with the production. After I returned home, I realized that I had not only seen a great production (put on by 11 and 12 year olds), but I had also been introduced to a great innovator, Willy Wonka.

As you may remember, the fictional character Wonka was the greatest choclatier in the world. He was not only creative but had built a large successful company. He embodied two of the great aspects of innovation. He created new products, and he was able to take them to market.

One of the songs in the play is entitled “Pure Imagination”. What a wonderful idea. It was Wonka’s ability to spend time in pure imagination that allowed him to innovate. And the time he spent in his imagination fueled his innovation. The crazier and more outlandish the idea, the more time Wonka spent exploring it.  After I found the words to the song, I came up what I believe is part of the definition of pure imagination.

Pure Imagination
1. No limits to the possibilities
2. If you want to see paradise simply look around.
3. If you want to change the world, there is nothing to it.  Do it!

I have included two versions of the song for you to look at. The first is from the original movie musical. The second is a more modern version with words to follow as you listen. After viewing these, take some time and tap into your underused resource of Pure Imagination.

And if you like your Pure Immagination with a Rock Edge Click here.

Buzzwords and catch phrases have become part of our business culture. Often they express a complex thought or idea in a few words. Unfortunately, when used too often or when spoken without the performance to back them up they can become cliché or even counterproductive.

One of the phrases that I love and hate the most is “Thinking outside the box.” It expresses a very important idea for business and innovation. The ability to see new solutions to our problems outside of what we or anyone else has been doing is very important and a characteristic of many of the great innovators. But this phrase has been used so often with no performance, that it no longer has the meaning it should have.

IBM illustrated the problem this way:

So what’s the solution? How do we avoid having buzzword bingo played in our organization? The answer is simple in explanation, but often difficult in execution. We have to talk less and perform more.

Edison illustrated the soulution when he stated, “I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.” Showing that we can think outside the box will do more for our group or team then telling them that it is important. So let’s go out and perform with a “little less talk and a lot more action.”

This blog was originally posted November 30, 2010.

As a manager or as an organization do you reward innovation? If you ask anyone this question the answer will always be yes. But is this answer true or have we created an environment that talks about innovation but does not reward truly reward it?

Instead of asking the question about innovation, let us ask it about risk. Do we as a manager or an organization reward taking risks? Risk sounds scary. If we take risks we are going to fail sometimes, but is that a bad thing? Edison said, “Every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.” To innovate we have to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them.

Now back to the original question. Do you reward taking risks and being innovative or do you reward playing it safe and maintaining the status quo? Take a look at the following short video and see if this resembles your organization. The answer may surprise you.

Last week new efficiency standards went into effect for light bulbs. Edison’s invention that brought light to the world has new standards that will eliminate his old bulb and replace them with new more energy efficient bulbs. These standards have created some controversy and I have wondered what would have Edison felt about the new government standards? I was not sure that he would have liked them, but then I read an article by Thomas Edison’s great-grandson entitled, “Edison would’ve love the new light bulb law.”

The article makes a number of points but the one that really sticks out to me is if Edison was alive today, he would be in his laboratory trying to invent a better and more efficient light bulb. Edison continually strived to improve on what he invented and was never satisfied. One of my favorite Edison quotes is, “Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”

So look around and see what you have stopped innovating, but yet could be improved. Maybe it is time for you to re-innovate your light bulb.

To read David Edward Edison Sloane’s insightful article, “Edison would’ve loved new light bulb law” Click here  We think you’ll find it very interesting.

This time of year people reflect on the past year and set goals and resolutions for the next. Where can we improve? What can we accomplish? Such questions often fill our minds at home and work. Thomas Edison asked these and similar questions all through his life. He had a unusual outlook as he sought the answers. When he applied his conclusions to innovation, he created remarkable results.

A great example from Edison’s life about his goals and vision is found in the creation of the light bulb. Edison had a vision of what he wanted to accomplish: to create the incandescent light bulb. While he had some ideas on how he would accomplish his goal, he did not have all the steps laid out on a nice checklist. In fact, most of his steps “failed.” He tried thousands of approaches to developing the right filament that did not work. This didn’t distract him from his goal. What others perceived as failure, Edison viewed as important steps to his ultimate goal.

When asked about his results, or rather lack of results, regarding the light bulb Edison stated, “Results? Why, man, I’ve gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward…” He recognized the small steps he took brought him closer to his goal, even if an outside observer considered it a failure. Each “failure” was really a learning opportunity.

Innovation often comes from trying new approaches to old problems. So as we begin a new year, keep in mind the words of Edison’s good friend Henry Ford, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

This blog was originally posted December 28, 2010

You probably did not realize this, but in addition to all of his other inventions, Thomas Edison also innovated the way we celebrate Christmas. Three particular Edison innovations enhanced the holiday.

During the Christmas season of 1880, a year after he invented the light bulb, Edison hung the first Christmas lights. Visitors to the laboratory that year were treated to the light display. Two years later Edison’s colleague, Edward H. Johnson, put the first red and green lights on a Christmas tree. It would be another forty years until outside lighting would become popular.

This time of year you cannot go anywhere without hearing Christmas music. We hear the familiar sounds of Christmas music in stores, in our cars, when we’re on hold for a phone call, and in our homes and churches. Not only did Edison invent the phonograph but he recorded and sold Christmas music. (To listen to some of these original Edison recordings click here)

Christmas movies have become a staple of the holiday and Edison created some of the earliest. Some of Edison’s early silent movies were made for the holidays including “The Night Before Christmas” and “A Christmas Carol.”

Below is Edison’s production of “A Christmas Carol.” It has been restored this year with sound to be just as it would have been if viewed in 1908. The special effects are really quite amazing for its time. Enjoy and have a Happy Holidays from Norwell Consulting.

This blog was originally posted December 14, 2010 and was one of our most popular of the year.

As we spend time studying the great innovators, we learn that they have a great passion for what they innovate. This passion comes from enjoying what they do. Some may enjoy the industry or the product. Edison enjoyed creating and inventing. He observed that, “The exercise I get is from standing and walking all day from one laboratory table to another. I derive more benefit and entertainment from this than some of my friends and competitors get from playing games like golf.” Some people like to golf for enjoyment, Edison invented for recreation.

Edison also provided an enjoyable work environment. Even though his muckers* worked long hours, they had an organ for singing and even at one time a pet bear. (I suppose the modern equivalent would be employers like Google that provide ping pong tables or other entertaining diversions for their employees.)

How does this apply to innovation? Simple, we need to take steps to make sure we enjoy what we are doing and that our team enjoys what they are doing. This does not mean that there is not stress; most innovators worked under tremendous stress and faced difficult obstacles. May I suggest three ways we can improve the enjoyment of our work and, as a result, increase our successes:

1. Remove Unnecessary Processes and Burdensome Bureaucracy. Many people enjoy what they are doing, but when do you hear, “I really enjoy the paperwork.”
2. Focus on the Change. Innovators enjoy improving products or processes. If we focus on doing work we enjoy, good results will happen.
3. Take a Break, as an individual or as a team. When Edison and his team would take a break, they sang songs or had other diversions.

There are many ways to find more enjoyment as we work and innovate. If we spend a little time on this we will be happier and create more success. As Walt Disney imagined, Snow White said that things will go better if you “Whistle While You Work.”

*mucker: a term of endearment Thomas Edison called some of his workers.

This blog was originally posted February 15, 2011.

Most practical people see time as a fixed, finite, limited resource.  Some visionary people see time as a renewable resource, abundant, flexible and unlimited.

Edison was in the practical category in his application of time and in the visionary category in his creative imagination.  As a result of his blending these two seemingly opposite categories, he developed what we call Edison’s ability to expand time.  At first thought, most would probably say it’s impossible to expand time.  Expanding time means putting greater results in fewer minutes, hours or days.   This is not simple time management.  Time expansion requires the marshalling of resources, people and ideas in creative and new ways.  Edison was a legend for his ability to expand time. 

For example, at one time, he stated that he and his muckers (his closest work associates) would invent something small every six weeks and something big every six months.  I’m not sure that anyone kept close track of his timing, but his final patent total is 1,098 in the 84 years of his life.  That works out to be more than 10 inventions per year every year of his life, including infancy and childhood.  With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like he clearly made his goal.  Who else has achieved such remarkable results?  No one!

Also, during the early stages of World War I, Edison actively helped the US war effort.  He became concerned about the availability of some imported chemicals critical to US war manufacturing.  He determined that his company would create or manufacture the needed materials.  When he said he would be in production in less than six months, doubters told him it would take more than a year.  He did it in three months.  His secret?  Convincing his workers they had to get it done quickly and getting the necessary supplies quickly.  His workers believed him and acted which assured the fulfillment of his promise. 

Even with numerous remarkable achievements in expanding time, Edison often spoke of his frustrations with the limits of time and how he dealt with them. 

“The thing with which I lose patience most is the clock.  Its hands move too fast.”

“The only time I become discouraged is when I think of all the things I would like to do and the little time I have in which to do them.”

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the thing that he can least afford to waste or lose…”

“I enjoy working about 18 hours a day.  Besides the short cat naps I take each day, I average about four to five hours of sleep per night.”

“Pretty much everything will come to him who hustles while he waits.”

So which is it?  Is time a finite resource, or is it elastic and renewable?  Can time be expanded?  It all depends upon the world you create and then  live in.  How will you know which one you’ve created?  Only time will tell.

In our blog post two weeks ago (to view the blog click here), I described the shock I got from my first report card—the dreaded kindergarten report card. Over the years I had remembered it a pass-fail system, perhaps it was a little softer than that. I mentioned previously that for the first semester I received the bad “minus” sign scores in cutting, pasting and coloring and the good “X”  sign in everything else. For many years after that I was certain that I could not do well in anything related to art, especially those things that required cutting, pasting or coloring. Being good in math, I turned to math and science as a source of positive academic feedback. I remember taking only one art class after kindergarten. I hated it and it hated me.

Two years ago, we were asked to show a group in an upcoming workshop that “left-brained people” could become more “right- brained.” In response, I started thinking again about my own creative skills. In the midst of those preparations, I was introduced by a friend to the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by the well-known art teacher, Betty Edwards. My friend said that in the book she boldly states that “anyone can draw.” I was sure I wasn’t in her “anyone” group. I knew I couldn’t draw, and I couldn’t learn to draw. I’ve known that for sure for 60 years.

However, in the interest of trying to become more right-brained, I decided to put her assertion to the test. I bought Edwards’ book and the recommended supplies. When it all came in the mail, I immediately opened it. I found a video starring the author and various art supplies. I almost laughed out loud when I realized that I now owned the tools that real artists use to create their work. I will admit I was a little bit excited—maybe I can draw, I thought.  No, not possible, I countered.

The first assignment was a self-portrait. With mirror, sketch pad and pencil in hand, I proceeded to draw something that only slightly resembled a human being. I moved on from exercise to exercise, slowly progressing, using principles she carefully introduced. One of the most memorable principles was that drawing is done primarily with the eyes, not just the hands. It’s about seeing.  Another was the concept of negative spaces: draw everything that frames the subject and you will have drawn the subject. This seemed simple enough; it was.

Slowly, as I spent 40 hours in self-directed art training spread across two weeks, a new-found skill emerging. I could draw! I was amazed at the results. I realized many things from this experience. 1. My kindergarten report card was filled with suggestions, not statements of permanent conditions. 2. Anyone can draw, if they have good instruction. 3. And most important for our discussion here, drawing activates the right side of the brain or at least uses the right mode of the brain.  (Clarifying that distincition is conversation for another day.)  As my right brain became more active through drawing, I immediately noticed that my thoughts were filled with new, creative ideas, some of which we introduced in future Edison Events.

At one of these events, an expert on Thomas Edison’s life observed that as Edsion worked on the design stage, his creativity was enhanced. In other words, as he drew his innovations, he was improving his own creativity and better innovations were the result.

You may remember from the earlier blog about my kindergarten report card, a published book came when I challenged my feelings that I couldn’t create fiction (To see the book I wrote click here). So far, I have only held very, very small private showings of my art work, but the response has been almost universal, something like, “Not bad for someone who can’t draw.”  Flattery works.

We suggest that if you are working on an innovation, take time to draw it out on paper, not just in your mind. For most, an improved product will result. Or as Betty Edwards put it, drawing may “enhance your ability to think more creatively in other areas of your life.”