From the writings of John Myrna
My wife Mary and I loved seasoning our food with black pepper. When I was growing up, I concluded that my mother considered black pepper an exotic spice, since I never saw her use it. We always had salt and pepper shakers on the table, but the salt shaker was the only one that ever had to be refilled. Mary opened my eyes to a whole range of spices. including freshly ground black pepper. As common as freshly ground black pepper was in our food, it wasn’t until we got a battery-operated electric pepper grinder as a gift that I really got onboard. I started to enthusiastically apply pepper when I grilled salmon and chicken wings. Our electric pepper grinder was great but wasn’t perfect. It had a small capacity for peppercorns, with a small refill hole that always led to spilled peppercorns all over the floor. The grinder held a charge for just a frustratingly short period of time, often losing power before we finished food preparation.
Then we discovered the ultimate grinder. It had a large capacity with an extra-large opening for refilling. It's use of batteries was ideal. Fill it up and you can use it for weeks before needing to refill or replace batteries. I find myself using 40% more ground pepper when I grill, enhancing an already great eating experience. Further, the grinder has an LED lamp that illuminates the food as I season it. This became one of our favorite kitchen utensils. (In fact, I’d love to tell you how to get hold of this pepper grinder we love so much, but I can’t give you any information but the name, PepperMills Supreme Model 200. It must have been designed by an engineer because there is no product name, manufacturer name, or web site location to be found on the product. Great engineering but lousy marketing!) https://peppermills.com/
The wooden pepper mill was invented in 1842 with virtually no change in design since. An engineer — one with a love of pepper, I suspect — must have asked himself how he could apply 21st century technology to create a superior solution. He did and the Myrna family is the better for it.
A New York Times article discussed how a biomechanical engineer got to thinking about rib spreaders. Surgeons perform two million operations a year using a tool that hasn’t really changed since 1936. Utilizing 21st century technology and advances in bioengineering knowledge, he has developed a tool that has the promise of all but eliminating the painful side effects of that ubiquitous procedure. Dramatically fewer broken ribs, torn ligaments, and nerve damage will lead to quicker recovery times for patients, with fewer serious complications like pneumonia.
The opportunities for innovation are hiding in plain sight. For example, I have a new scanner/printer that scans in 4 seconds using digital camera technology. I take notes on a RocketBook that comes with a phone app that automatically scans the page and sends it to one or more destinations. You then spritz the page and wipe it clean for the next set of notes.
Take a fresh look around your company and ask yourself how you could perform a task more productively using a tool or process that wasn’t conceivable 30, 20, or even 5 years ago. (There is a ten-fold improvement in semiconductor chip performance every five years. That alone creates entirely new technology possibilities every five years.) The new product the can fuel your company’s next five years of growth may be right in front of you!
Of course, it’s easier to identify innovation like this if you have a clear visualization of where your company is going. For a pragmatic take on how to develop, refine, and implement that visualization, read my best selling book, The Chemistry of Strategy or the soon to be available The Chemistry of Growth.
If you’re interested in having a facilitated strategic planning meeting that sets your strategy — including your approach to innovation — and launches its implementation, give us a call.
