Seize the day: Learning from Great Inventions.

A recent article I read discussed a fascinating list of inventions that were "accidentally" found, some which have become institutions in our marketplace. I was more fascinated however by the people behind these inventions and their specific characteristics that enabled such great success.   

Did you know for example, that potato chips were the result of a well-known chef trying to get back at a customer who complained that his fries were too thick, bland and soggy? The chef, George Crum sliced a potato paper thin, deep fried it so it was very fragile and added a stack of salt, intending to teach the complaining customer a lesson. To his surprise, the customer loved the "chips" and ordered a second helping and the rest is history as they say. (http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2012/1005/The-20-most-fascinating-accidental-inventions/Potato-chips)

Actually, the rest would not be history if George Crum, the NY chef in question and inventor had just taken this episode as a failed attempt to get back at a customer. Other "unplanned" inventions in this article were teflon, X-rays, plastic, stainless steel and Play-doh. Play-doh was particularly fascinating because it started out as a cleaning product for taking soot from wallpaper as a result of coal mines. As coal mines diminished, the profits from the cleaning product began to decline. The sister of the company owners was using the product as a dough with her students in her class and the brothers saw the opportunity to change the direction of their product. This change of direction turned these company owners into millionaires and the product became a household name.

Here are some of the characteristics I identified in these inventors:

1. Entrepreneurs and inventors are tenacious

In many of the examples that I saw, the inventors were already trying to be creative and looking for solutions to specific problems when they stumbled on the new invention. The descriptions of their tenacity and hard work would indicate highly focused individuals who just kept going. An example of this to me would be John Goodenough, a engineering professor at the University of Texas in Austin who invented the first lithium ion battery in 1991. In 2013 at the age of 90, speaking of  the deficiencies that still remain in the battery, he said, "I'm working on it, I'm optimistic in a sense that I'm willing to keep working on it. I think we can do some interesting things." http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8217648/Battery-holding-back-a-green-future.  

2. They are open to new directions

The very fact that we have their inventions or products would indicate their ability to shift their focus when a completely unexpected outcome took them in a new direction. True entrepreneurs are not frightened to step outside of their self-identified paradigms. They are not bound by rigid visions or by their original intentions. This would appear to apply not only to products but also to looking at ourselves and remaining open to new ways of viewing our vision, goals, skills and expertise. A friend gave me a suggestion to view ourselves as being a spider on its spider web, feeling for the very delicate movements on the web and adjusting/acting as quickly as possible in accordance with those movements.

3. Someone had to recognize the value of the unintended inventions

When a student tried to create a cure for malaria he stumbled on creating artificial dyes that have impacted the fashion industry. The adhesive that enabled the 3M sticky labels was found by accident but at first 3-M considered it to be useless and not worth developing. It took 5 years before someone was able to see the value of the Post-it note and develop it commercially. Can you imagine life without Post-it notes? John Walker who invented the first match in 1826 did not consider it worth patenting or developing. It took Samuel Jones to copy Walker's process and to invent "Lucifers". Likewise, the inventor of teflon was not the person who saw its value for cookware. It was the wife of a French Engineer called Marc Gregoire who suggested that the teflon would be great for cookware and he introduced the "Tefal" label to the market as a result.

It is not enough to have created something new. It is important to see the value in what has been developed, to have vision and the courage to develop the idea. Of course, they were assisted by a willing public who spotted a product that they liked.

4. Once entrepreneurs spot a new opportunity or a new idea they market it.

Similarly, I noted that those who went on to develop these wonderful inventions that have changed our lives had the courage to invest and work to bring the inventions into the public marketplace. The father of the inventor of the fabric dye, mauve invested everything he had because of his belief in his son's product and they both became wealthy as a result. Sometimes, in order to truly market a product it is necessary for the inventor to let go of total control over his/her invention. A true entrepreneur will recognize their own limitations and seek the assistance of others with expertise to complement their vision. Finding the right supporting partners and/or staff is a key skill of the visionary business owner.

5. Word of mouth is vital to the success of any new service or product.

In the case of Crum's "Saratoga chips" word spread quickly about this new, delectable food and Crum was able to finally open his own restaurant as a result. When we want to market ourselves, our services or our products we should remember that 84% of respondents over 54 countries were most influenced by the recommendations and opinions of family and friends. (Nielsen 2007 Global Survey of Trust in Advertising, Q3 2007 and Q1 2013). In our business world, this might extend to the opinions of our colleagues. With social media intensifying people's ability to share their opinions on almost anything, that word of mouth marketing has increased in importance.

While these are all about very concrete inventions, I can equally see the principles they reveal apply in other sectors. Tenacity, vision, the flexibility to change direction, recognizing value and then courage to implement a plan are all great skills for those who instigate and manage a nonprofit service. We then need to find ways to get people talking about our product or service. These skills are equally important to nonprofit organizations.  Successful nonprofit instigators are more than visionary. They are people who work hard to implement their vision and they need to adapt to the changing needs of the community. Certainly, word of mouth has tremendous impact on the reputation and use of nonprofit services or their ability to raise funds. These are foundational principles being exhibited by inventors. 

Data, data and more data: Ode to evaluation

Organizations and businesses are constantly producing data of all sorts: financial reports, staff attendance reports, marketing reports, client feedback. Sometimes the amount of data being collected can be both onerous and expensive in both time and resources. I have been surprised at the number of organizations I have assessed where copious amounts of data were rigorously collected but then went on to gather dust, never to see the light of day again. On the opposite end I have noted many non-profit organizations who thought that collecting data was a waste of time and took them away from their core work. Paper work was at a minimum.

Evaluation, in its broadest sense, is a key tool in bringing about improvements to the organization and to the services or products provided. While there is a whole academic expertise called "Evaluation" with specific research techniques, I also believe very much in down to earth, basic evaluation that can be implemented by any organization. This blog will provide a rudimentary overview on what "evaluation" might look like.

Ask the right questions, get the right data

Asking the right questions is an essential step in getting usable data to improve your organization/business. What information do we need to seek to monitor our key functions, as well as to provide us with information to launch new directions and new improvements?

Evaluation should grow out of asking these "right" questions. Because of the demands of donors, non-profits can sometimes focus nearly all of their attention on questions about outputs or impact. However, there are other types of questions that need to be asked if the organization is to be healthy and remain capable of taking care of the identified needs. It is about gathering the best information possible to inform our decisions.

Questions can be as broad as "what is the mission of our organization?" or as specific as "are we getting best value for our HR dollars in this particular project?" Questions will also change over time as organizations develop, expand or adjust to changing environments.

Keeping data gathering simple, with minimal cost

Once we have identified the answers we need, organizations can identify the methodology for gathering data. Evaluation does not need to be expensive or undertaken only by external experts. Sometimes simple data gathering exercises can produce the most effective analyses. In addition, when governance and management take responsibility themselves for analyzing evaluation data, they are more likely to be motivated to apply the learnings from that evaluation.

Certain analyses should be part of the regular fabric of any organization such as financial reports and HR appraisals. There needs to be an ongoing mechanism to access the views of the target population and the wider donor population. With social media tools, there are a wide range of possibilities to gather useful data without significant expenditure.

However, a potential difficulty faced by management is when too many questions are being addressed at once. Evaluation becomes this onerous exercise where mountains of information are being gathered but is too overwhelming to be appropriately used. Management needs to identify which pieces of information are most vital for them to move forward.


Gathering the Data: 

Mechanisms for gathering data can be expensive as well as time consuming, particularly if individualized software is developed. Our targeted questions to be answered as well as our marketing budget should inform the methods we use. Do we undertake significant one-off marketing surveys or do we gather data continuously to keep abreast of the views of our "audience"? Are there simple ways to collect data on an ongoing basis that are cost-effective. For example, analyzing the number of likes on a particular posting in facebook, or the number of times a tweet is shared or viewed may have minimal cost. This will nonetheless require someone within the organization to have responsibility for monitoring the flow of information in a timely way. Getting input from staff on evaluation tools will encourage buy in and provide some innovative ideas.

Applying learnings from the Data:
An evaluation process and the data it produces is only good if it is evaluated.  Often we build these wonderful evaluation tools with the very latest technology. However, in the end, human eyes need to understand the data and make consequent recommendations. When we make major decisions within our organization such as structural changes or changes in our service delivery, we should be referring to our data to inform our decision making. One of the obstacles faced by organizations is where they need some longer term data to inform their decision making but have started the data gathering phase too late. Deciding on what information is needed at an early stage will ensure that when analysis is made, there is adequate information rather than scrambling at the last minute to find applicable data.

If we are not using our evaluation information then we should take a hard look at it and decide a) whether this is information we actually need to be gathering or b). how can we more effectively analyze and use what we are receiving.

Evaluations are an essential part of any good non-profit or for-profit organization. Those that undertake internal evaluations as a part of the fabric of the organization will be more stable at the same time as more willing and capable of undertaking change. Staff that are included in the ongoing internal evaluations will be more responsive to implementing recommendations identified. If you are unsure how to identify the key questions, how to plan out the methodology for gathering data or how to analyze the information in meaningful ways, seek an external expert to assist with the setting up of the evaluation but do not lose sight of the ownership of the evaluation processes. They belong squarely in the hands of the governance and management.