the
innovative LEDGER
An e-Newsletter from The Innovative Edge™ Inc.
Vol.
7, No. 8 - August 2007
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Hands-on Innovation
By Jeff Govendo
You’ve
just finished washing your hands in one of those rare public restrooms
that offer you a choice: paper towel or electric hand dryer. Which
do you choose?
Now,
I’ve never seen any survey research on this, but I’ll bet
if you’re like most folks, you choose the paper towel. It’s
less noisy, doesn’t get your hands all hot, and most of all,
faster. If you do end up using the dryer, there’s a good chance
you’ll finish the job on your pants, or air dry on the way out.
Soon
this is about to change. James Dyson, of Dyson vacuum cleaner fame,
is introducing the Airblade, a new hand dryer that cuts drying time
in half and uses no heat, cutting electricity usage by 80%. It
works because, rather than relying primarily on evaporation like a
conventional dryer, the rushing air physically removes water droplets
from the hands as they’re withdrawn from a hopper-like receptacle.
Like squeegeeing a window, without physical contact.
Dyson,
whose pricey vacuums are among the top-selling in the U.S., is an
interesting fellow. A designer and engineer, he describes himself
(famously, in the commercials he stars in) as a person who simply
doesn’t like things that don’t work well. His inventions
gravitate toward the mundane, everyday activities of our lives: the
vacuum cleaner, a wheelbarrow that uses a ball rather than a wheel
for increased stability, and now the Airblade to get us out of the
restroom more quickly.
But
“everyday” doesn’t mean unimpressive from an innovation
standpoint. Dyson and his team engage in what he terms “wrong
thinking;” trying out ideas and concepts that defy conventional
wisdom. For example, prior to his vacuum cleaner’s debut,
it was a given that the last thing consumers wanted to see was the
collected debris from their homes swirling about in the machine. Yet
he made the collection tank see-through, displaying the gritty evidence
of a job done well, and discovered people actually do like it! Now
most bagless vacuums of every brand let you see the show.
What
usually constitutes “wrong thinking” in an organization
is only wrong because it runs counter to established norms (“That’s
not the way we do things around here…”). In such cases the
emphasis, unfortunately, is on the word “wrong,” when it
should be on “thinking.” There is no harm in thinking about
things in new ways; thinking doesn’t necessarily mean doing.
But we do know that throughout history, breakthroughs which have improved
our well-being, revealed secrets of the cosmos and brought humankind
to new heights started with ideas deemed “wrong” by many
(Galileo, are you listening?). Innovation almost always begins with
an idea that just doesn’t seem “right.”
Can
drying your hands actually be fun? Most of us would shake our
heads, and I’m sure Dyson is putting up with a fair number of
doubters. What will they say if and when his machine becomes the restroom
standard?
Some
will admit they were wrong.
Others,
I bet, will just wash their hands of it.
