This past few weeks I have observed something that has been nothing short of amazing. I have been working on a project for over a year now. The product is part of a line of products that are being produced at multiple sites. In the past few weeks I have witnessed a previously sense of cooperation across multiple sites. Egos appear to have gone to the wayside. Contributors are chipping in, communicating, collaborating and generally being pleasant to work with. What on earth has been going on? The only thing I can think of is that the fear brought on by the recession has made people rethink the way they do things.
Shortly after I decided I wanted to write a blog post about this, I read Bruce Temkin’s blog about a New York Times article he just read called Why Bad Times Nurture New Inventions, the article in the NYT mades the following observations:
Bhide: “The deck gets reshuffled in a recession as habits are re-examined and patterns of behavior are broken, perhaps to greater degree than when things are humming along at a steady state. And that’s what creates business opportunities.” Bhide discusses Kindles, iPods, and computers and the 1980s.
Nelson: “America’s financial panics have often been the periods of its most interesting commercial and logistical innovations. Plummeting commodity prices combined with new observations about manufacturing or trade often suggest new solutions to old problems.” Nelson discusses wool manufacturers circa 1815, industrial food canners circa 1873, and integrated circuits in the 1970s.
McGrath: “With business as usual off the table in a recession, people become more open to new and efficient ways of doing things. And they’re forced to show more entrepreneurial discipline – you have to expend imagination before spending money.” McGrath discusses recent companies Kiva Systems and Hulu.
Kelly: “Inventors and innovative entrepreneurs should be smiling. That timeworn proverb about “an ill wind that blows no good” truly applies in an economic downturn. No doubt, in garages across the country, innovators are hard at work as opportunity bangs on the doors. Answering the call, however, will require them to step back and take a hard look at the current environment.” Kelly discusses small entrepreneurs.
Lindstrom: “What do Lindt chocolate, the Rubik’s Cube, French perfumes and a pair of Wellies have in common? They’ve all had increased profits during this recession. The number of products getting these results, however, is small and getting smaller by the day. These brands, which may weather the storm, offer some hints for start-up businesses.” Lindstrom describes two concepts: 1) don’t ask consumers what they want; figure out what they need; and 2) practical features give consumers a reason to make a purchase.
So even though times may be uncertain and possibly full of despair, when you witness new innovation, collaboration, and people actually putting forth an effert to produce better work, it helps to unobfuscate the light at the end of the tunnel.
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