One of my favorite things to say in an idea-generation meeting is, “Let’s invent now. We can always tweak later.” One of the worst dream-killers is finding all the reasons something won’t work before you even decide if you’re going to do it.
I remember reading once that the can opener came almost 50 years after the tin can.
Invent Now, Tweak Later
Apparently, it takes time for innovation to ultimately find it’s true destination.
- I also read once it was years before someone thought to cut a hole in the bottom of a basketball goal.
- Another example, plastic was invented years before someone thought to mass produce it.
- Penicillin was invented in 1928, but didn’t arrive on the market for mass use until 1945.
And one of my favorites- Andy Andrews wrote in his book The Little Things, “Never forget that, as a society, we put men on the moon before anyone thought to put wheels on luggage!” I love that.
Hopefully you get the idea.
We should not be afraid of small doses of innovation.(Perhaps you call it change.)
As the old saying goes, if you keep doing the same things you’ll get the same results. There is relative agreement on that one.
