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IDEAS- Issue # 2 (Oct. 2005) Monthly newsletter dedicated to organisational innovation, creativity and change. The Law of Unexpected Whether you like it or not, you've surely tasted it. It's crunchy. It's a popular breakfast, especially in the Western world. And it requires no cooking. Guessed it? Corn Flakes! While Corn Flakes is now a well-accepted breakfast, it came into this world quite unexpectedly. Corn Flakes was born as a result of someone's alertness to an "unexpected" event. He was educated up to only sixth standard and sold brooms early in his career. He is Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951). Will Keith Kellogg once worked alongside his elder brother, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, at a hospital. Though he worked as a bookkeeper and manager, Will used to take interest in nutrition and whole grain foods. One day Will boiled some wheat in an effort to create an easy-to-digest substitute for bread. As it happened, he accidentally left the pot of boiled wheat unattended for several hours. Upon returning, he found the wheat softened and tempered. Instead of throwing it away, he put the wheat through the usual rolling process anyway. When the rolled wheat came out, Will noticed something unexpected: Wheat grains had turned into flat, wide flakes. What he was expecting was a usual sheet of dough. He went on to bake the flakes, which resulted in a crispy, easy-to-eat cereal. Next he persuaded his brother John to serve the new food to patients. Patients liked it so much that they began asking for packages of flakes even after they left the hospital. Buoyed by the success, Will and John started Sanitas Food Company in 1889. The company did mail order business of supplying Corn Fakes. In 1906, Will established the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company, the world's first ready-to-eat cereal company. The company shipped 175,000 cases of Corn Flakes within the first year. Within few years, Corn Flakes was a household name in the US and rest of the world. Today, Kellogg is a US 9.6 billion dollars company. It all, however, started with Will Keith Kellogg paying attention to an unexpected result: flattened wheat flakes. Anything "unexpected" is a fertile ground for innovation. >>IDEAS: The Law of Unexpected states, "Unexpected successes, failures, events or situations contain seeds of innovation. Still can't believe it? Consider this: Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming when he forgot to clean his lab bench before leaving for vacation and found (unexpectedly) on his return, a mould on a plate which inhibited the growth of bacteria. Similarly, Teflon, a coating material used extensively in kitchen appliances, was discovered when Roy J. Plunkett and his assistant found--again unexpectedly--that one of the gas cylinders containing a refrigerant gas didn't discharge gas upon opening of the valve. They noticed cylinder was too heavy to be empty. Intrigued, they cut it open and found that gas had solidified into a white powder, which had properties of a lubricant. That was the origin of Teflon. The discovery of nylon was no different, but let's turn attention to some business cases. Howard Shultz used to work for a Swedish kitchen appliances company when he noticed an unusually high demand of coffee makers from one of his clients. Upon investigation, he found a small outfit called Starbucks selling coffee beans. He got hooked to that company and coffee. Rest is history. He is now the Chairman of Starbucks, a multi-billion dollar company. Ray Crock used to sell mixers. When he got an unexpectedly large order of mixers from a restaurant run by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald, he got interested in their business. He noticed the brothers were keeping the mixers running all the time. Good business! He bought over that company and McDonald's corporation was born. The history of innovation teaches us one simple lesson: Both as an individual and as an organisation, it pays to stay alert to unexpected happenings around us. If you find unexpected demand for your products/services from a particular type of industry or clients, pay extra attention. If you notice a supplier/customer doing unexpectedly well, pay attention. If you meet an unexpected failure somewhere, don't despair. There may lie a hidden opportunity for innovation. As Will Keith Kellogg, Fleming, Plunkett, Shultz and Ray Crock show, anything "unexpected" is worth paying attention to. Food for your thought: Is innovation about creating new products or is it also about exploiting/uncovering new business opportunities? Atul Mathur FORWARD IT: Would you like to share what you've just read with any of your friends/colleagues? Click below to send a link to your friend.Coming up in the next issue... The goldmine of ideas: Your users/customers To SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter, send a blank e-mail to:subscribe IDEAS ***Copyright 2005 Atul Mathur*** |
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