Look Elsewhere
The first collapsible baby carriage was invented by an inventor named Owen Maclaren. Maclaren was inspired by the system designed for folding undercarriages for Spitfire planes in World War II.
Innovator James Dyson was inspired by a cyclone vacuum system used to suck up sawdust in sawmills. Dyson went on to design the famous home vacuum.
Both innovators revolutionized previously well known designs from different industries. Let this be an additional reminder, if you are looking for a new way of doing something, look at different industries.
When asked where her creativity came from, Al Jean, one of the original writers for The Simpsons, said, “You get ideas from real life. Teachers you had, problems your kids are going through, things that happened to you as a kid, things you read in the paper.”
The Simpsons are the longest continuously running sitcom in history topping out at nearly 30 years.
Lon Safko
Serial Innovator, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, Innovative Thinking
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