Rearrange to generate new ideas

Some restaurants are rearranged to get the customers to pay first and then have food. Editing in movies is done by rearranging shots and footages to make the movie more entertaining. “Rearrange” can be used as an innovation tool to identify possibilities of changing set patterns and realigning it to explore various solutions. Let us take the example of Olympic rings.

Olympic rings were designed by a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1912; he is also the founder of International Olympics committee. The five multicoloured rings stand for five continents, the interlocking signifies unity between the nations. The five colours and the white background of Olympic rings have at least one colour of every nation’s flag in them.

Now, without changing the meaning and spirit of the rings, think of various ring arrangements. Some questions which can help us to change the pattern are as follows:

Why two rings at the bottom? Why there are gaps between the top three rings? Some people could think of as many as 20 different ring arrangements.

Computer keyboard used by us is a good example of problem solving by rearrangement. In 1860s the typewriter keys were in alphabetical order but it had problems with fast typing. Letters used to get tangled and the typist had to manually untangle the type bars. To solve the problem keys were rearranged in QWERTY format (it is the sequence of the keys) to facilitate fast typing. QWERTY is designed for English language after a lot of research. Layout of computer keyboard is rearranged according to the country where it is used. QWERTY layout is the most commonly used. QWERTZ layout is widely used in Germany and much of Central Europe, AZERTY layout is used in France and Belgium.

Ask any hotelier and they will tell you the importance of rearranging buffet tables to suit the occasion. Cricket teams are rearranged according to the playing conditions. Shopping malls rearrange their layout to enhance customer convenience. Can you think of anything else which you can improve by rearranging?  

Innovation through substitution

A brand of shampoo was cleverly advertised in Frankfurt, Germany. They substituted bus handles with artificial hair plait hanging from the bus rods. Commuters held onto the plait (with the product mentioned on it) as they stood inside the bus.

Have you ever experienced eating in a completely dark restaurant? A restaurant in London replaced waiters with normal vision with blind waiters. Turned the restaurant into a dark restaurant where guests are completely dependent on their blind guides as they enjoy the delicious cuisine. That’s adventurous, isn’t it?

Chewing gum was discovered while experimenting to find a substitute for rubber. Thomas Adams Sr. was experimenting on chicle, (a natural gum from Manilkara tree) with which he tried to make toys, masks and rain boots but could not succeed. Sitting in his workshop one day, tired and discouraged, he popped a piece of surplus stock into his mouth. Soon after, in 1870 he opened his factory making chewing gums - Adams New York No.1.William White introduced flavour in chewing gum in 1880. The first flavour he used was peppermint.

According to World Health Organization, 1 billion adults are overweight. Mismatch between calorie intake and exercise leads to obesity which is the root cause of various kinds of diseases. Inventors have found out a substitute for cream which can cut down calorie intake allowing people to live a healthier life.

Candles create a bit of mess with melting wax falling around it. Can we substitute wax with something which can solve this problem? Remember, we are not talking about electrical candles, poor people can’t afford them and they are the ones who use candles the most. Do a research on your own and try to find a solution.

Innovation through modification

How can we modify a product with the help of a new colour, form or shape? New models of car and bike keep hitting the market almost every week. Two wheeler and automobile manufacturers use the modification technique constantly to upgrade their product with a new look or design. Modern homes and offices are dotted with innovative modified furniture marking a new beginning in luxury and lifestyle.

Packaging of products is modified to retain the freshness of the products, to facilitate better usage of the product or to make it look more attractive. The concept of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is used in some countries to increase the shelf life of fresh food products. The modification process uses a gas mix inside the packaging to keep the food fresh.

Innovation through modification has taken giant leaps in the field of genetically modified animals. Scientists are experimenting on creation of animals for producing medicine and organs for transplant which could benefit mankind. Some researchers are trying to develop genetically modified mosquitoes to eradicate malaria. Same has been done for crops; scientists have genetically modified sweet corn so that it produces a poison which kills harmful insects, the farmers does not require insecticides to fight insects.

Kaizen is a concept developed by the Japanese to encourage small improvements on a regular basis. It is implemented in organisations to improve everything related to the organisation; it can range from a business process to a production process. These changes are brought about by making small modifications in daily activities, the cumulative effect of which is quite remarkable when reviewed over a period of time.

The concept of Kaizen can be applied to our daily lives as well. We can try to make small modifications to improve whatever we do. Think of enhancing concentration which would help in studies and job, a little bit of exercise daily can keep us healthy and energetic. The way we study or do our job can also be improved through modifications.

So, try to innovate by modifying.

Innovate by adapting to the environment

It is all about utilizing tools and ideas within new contexts and situations. Mc Donald sells vegetarian burgers in India, Pizza hut sells vegetarian Pizzas. Whenever any foreign car maker enters India, they adapt their car designs to make it suitable for Indian roads and families. Special types of education are adapted for children with special needs.

Kellogg’s failed miserably after it launched in India. They were the first to introduce branded corn flakes for the Indian middle class. With the increasing number of urban women going to work, it seemed Kellogg’s cornflakes are just the “right fit” for the situation, but it failed. What was wrong? Kellogg’s corn flakes were meant for cold milk, but Indians like hot milk. It is only after making a cereal suitable for hot milk that Kellogg’s started to get accepted by Indians.

If a product is not tailor made for the situation, it could lead to failures; at times innovative adaptation is needed to enhance acceptability of products. One American company tried to sell tables in Japan, the height of the table was 29-inch while the average table height in Japan is 21 inches because Japanese sit on the floor at the table and do not use chairs. General Motors introduced the Nova in Latin America.  Nova means, “it doesn’t go” in Spanish.  The car had terrible sales. GM finally figured out the problem, renamed the car Caribe and immediately started getting accepted.

Charles Darwin said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”Human race has to innovative quickly to adapt to the changing global climate.

Some companies in India have started to go green. Bajaj Auto launched innovative eco-friendly auto rickshaws (Three wheelers used for public transport), Lipton replaced wooden pallets with “slip-sheets” to ship teas.  It is us who has to drive the change. Try to adapt, improvise and conserve in every possible way. Nation’s resources, natural resources are an imperative for our survival.

A hotel in Copenhagen found out an alternate way of producing electricity for the hotel. They designed an innovative free meal offer for any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator.

You can go to Google and type – best eco practices, then find out how many practices you can adapt as your contribution towards a greener earth. 

Innovate by Thinking Reverse

Everyone knows the story of the crow trying to drink water from a big jar with very little water left in it. When getting water out of the jar got difficult, the crow thought reverse - putting some pebbles in the jar to increase the water level. That’s how you can innovate by thinking reverse.

High jumpers preferred to jump over the bar with their body facing the bar but a revolutionary change happened during the 1968 Mexico Olympics when a young athlete, Dick Fosbury, crossed a world record height of 7ft 41/4 inches. He changed the way people think by thinking just the reverse of what others think. He jumped over the bar with his back facing the bar. The method of jumping is known as Fosbury Flop which inspired athletes across the world and is accepted as the best method of jumping over the bar.

I asked a group of students to suggest a new theme for restaurants. Restaurant is a place where you find various kinds of delicious cuisines. I asked the students to think just the opposite of what a restaurant is all about. One student suggested the opposite could be a place where food is restricted like a hospital. The answer came almost instantaneously and unaware about the famous hospital themed restaurant in Latvia. Hospitalis is the name of the restaurant where food is served in flasks and operating-room dishes by waitresses in nurse’s uniform. Furniture, utensils and the entire ambience of the restaurant is just like a hospital. Reverse thinking really helps to move out of the box, isn’t it?

Have you heard about reverse painting? It is an ancient art where a painter paints on one side of a sheet of glass and the painting is viewed from the other side of the glass, i.e. through the glass. In this case the painter has to paint in reverse keeping in mind the actual image when viewed from the other side of the glass. It is surprising the way these highly skilled painters use reverse thinking – the mind thinks of the painting and exactly it’s reverse, simultaneously. The mind is so well trained that that it can guide the hands of the painter to do just the opposite of what it thinks. Surprisingly Amazing!!! Want to try?

Great people thought just the reverse of what others thought. People feel that recession is not the ideal time to start a business, but some great entrepreneurs thought just the opposite. Thomas Edison started a small company called General Electric Company in 1876, in the middle of recession which went on to become one of the largest companies in the world. Bill Gates, a Harvard University dropout started Microsoft Corp. during recession. Walt Disney Corporation began during the recession in 1923-24. Hewlett-Packard Corporation began in 1938 during the great depression.

Innovate by using Magnification as a technique

Anything magnified always catches our attention. We are mesmerised by the architectural brilliance exhibited by the Taj Mahal, the Egyptian pyramids and the Titanic. New benchmarks in innovation are created when people try to achieve such brilliance. Magnification can be used as a useful tool for creative thinking.

Roger Bacon magnified human vision through a magnifying glass, the innovation which paved the way for invention of instruments like telescope and microscope. Audio amplifier is an example of magnifying the volume of sound. Hearing aid is a great innovative device which amplifies sound for people having hearing problem. These great inventors used the concept of magnification to overcome the limitation of humans associated with sight and sound. Do you know about the bladeless fan? It looks like a circular ring mounted on a vertical rod. It’s a great innovation called Dyson fans which use air multiplier technology to draw in air and amplify it, with no blades or grille they are safe and easy to clean.

Have you tried putting thread into a needle? I tried it a few times during my hostel days and got frustrated trying to push the thread through the small, almost invisible hole. An innovative needle with an adjustable hole would be of great help for people like me. Magnify the hole, put the thread in, then close the hole and start sewing.

The concept of malls is amplification of a shop, multiplexes magnified the concept of cinema halls, and cricket matches were never as big as Indian Premium League. The modern concept of entertainment, luxury and lifestyle are innovative magnification of traditional concepts. Location is no more a constraint for getting education. The concept of delivering education has been magnified to reach a wider audience. Education through internet and distant learning programs enables students to acquire knowledge even from foreign universities.

Try to magnify a concept which you like – probably an International College Fest and imagine the way you can make it a reality. Thinking is fun, so just enjoy it.

Innovate by finding new uses of existing products

This aspect of innovation had been a part of our evolution process. Right from the beginning of mankind, human beings have found out multiple uses for stone, trees and animal skin. Innovative minds keep exploring new uses of existing products.

Plants are used for decorating homes and offices. It is used as building material for making thatched roofs and cover walls, some plants are used as broom. The hollow stems of some plants are used as breathing stems to allow people to remain underwater. New window of opportunities open up the more we innovate.

During the Second World War Americans were exploring ways for inventing a substitute for rubber. James Wright, an employee in General Electric, invented a strange gooey mass by adding boric acid to silicon oil. It was considered completely useless since it could not serve any practical purpose. Several companies initiated efforts to find a practical use for the product. Everyone gave up. A toymaker called Peter Hodgson found it interesting and put the product into a new use - making of toys, thus Silly Putty was born. It became the most popular toys of all time. The invention which seemed to be useless in the beginning is also used by astronauts to hold pens and tools in their weightless environment.

During a visit to his family’s village near Pune,India, Mr. Santosh Ostwal saw his grandfather walk a mile every midnight to switch on the pump to ensure proper water supply in the farm. His deep desire to help his grandfather kept him thinking while he was studying engineering. After completing his engineering he worked out ways to find a solution and has to go through a lot of struggle and poverty in his pursuit to innovate. At last he came up with a solution which is saving water and helping farmers avoid several tiring, dangerous long walks a day.

His solution – a mobile phone adaptation that triggers irrigation pumps remotely. Villagers were surprised to know about the new use of mobile phone and so were the audience in Barcelona where Mr. Ostwal showed how he can control an electric pump with a mobile phone. He named the device “Nano Ganesh” which won the award in Nokia’s Mobile Innovation Contest in Barcelona and is now being used in Egypt and Australia.