| How do you invent new products? Here is one | | | | thinking of a jukebox. To the best of my |
| way to get those ideas flowing. | | | | knowledge, there are no widely distributed |
| To invent new products, you need to know how | | | | portable jukeboxes. The question of usefulness is |
| to generate new ideas - lots of them. Then you | | | | answered in the affirmative - just think what a |
| look them over and pick out the good ones. Here | | | | great little money maker a portable jukebox could |
| is one of the many simple techniques for coming | | | | be. Take it to parties, set it up at fund raisers, |
| up with ideas for new products. | | | | maybe you could even rent it out. Now you just |
| New Products From Old | | | | have to design one. |
| Start with an existing product and extract some | | | | This technique isn't limited to new products. Lets |
| of the basic principles or attributes that define it. | | | | look at how to do this with a service. For our |
| Then take those and apply them to other | | | | existing service, delivery comes to mind. It is the |
| products, things or processes. That's the whole | | | | essence of many pizza restaurants and flower |
| technique, by the way. Now for some examples. | | | | shops, for example. What can be delivered that |
| A laptop computer has many attributes, but the | | | | isn't typically being delivered now? Finding things to |
| one that comes to my mind as most important is | | | | apply this to can be as simple as mentally listing |
| that it is portable. That is what makes them sell, | | | | everything that people go out to buy and |
| right? So let's start with the idea of "portable" and | | | | considering whether there is some way to make |
| apply it to anything and everything around us. | | | | a business delivering it. |
| As I write this, I can see my desk in front of me. | | | | People go out to buy plants, for example, |
| The questions to ask then, are "Would a portable | | | | because they want to see what they are buying. |
| desk be useful or desired by people?" and "How | | | | But what if a nursery had video cameras that |
| could a portable desk be made?" The answer to | | | | could be operated by the customer to see |
| the first question is clearly yes for me, since I | | | | everything in stock? The customer could scan the |
| would love one to take when we go camping in | | | | plants, note the numbers on them and place the |
| our van. Of course there are some fairly portable | | | | order online or by phone for delivery that day or |
| desks, so the second question should focus on | | | | the next. "I'll take number t-243 (t for tree) and |
| new ways to make them even smaller. | | | | eight cucumber plants." Once a day a driver could |
| I guess we would want to start with materials | | | | run the rounds around the city making the |
| that are very strong and rigid for there weight, | | | | deliveries. |
| like aluminum or titanium. Maybe a small titanium | | | | You can also open the dictionary and start |
| desk top could fold into six parts and have | | | | scanning pages to see what might be delivered. It |
| telescoping legs. The whole thing might fit inside a | | | | took me less than a minute to scan six pages and |
| briefcase-sized carrier and still fold out into a | | | | see "pool." Could a business rent and deliver |
| usable size. Or maybe, since the market might be | | | | swimming pools for parties and events? Maybe it's |
| laptop owners, we could just add telescoping legs | | | | already being done. |
| to a laptop computer. Once you have a simple | | | | Just start with existing products or services and |
| idea like this, you should jot it down and quickly | | | | apply the existing principles and attributes in a |
| move on to the next one. | | | | new context. It's one of the simplest ways to |
| Randomly searching my imagination for other | | | | invent new products or services. |
| products to apply the idea of "portable" to, I am | | | | |