The wheel has been around for 9,000 years, give or take a millennium. To reinvent the wheel is to duplicate a basic method that has already been created or optimized by others. An attempt to reinvent it would be pointless and add no value to the object, and would be a waste of time, right?
WRONG! I disagree, here’s why.
Whether used for moving giant stones to build pyramids or using the trackwheel to make music louder on an iPod (You remember the iPod, don’t you?), wheels serve many functions and have no doubt improved countless lives over the years.
The famous saying, “don’t reinvent the wheel” conjures up the very basics of the simplest of products, the wheel, that cannot be improved and should not be reinvented. While the very basics of a wheel depict its structure and its strength, a reinvented wheel can be a good thing. Due to the many uses a wheel can have, improvement is something that can and should take place for a wheel with a specific purpose in mind,
Consider the oval-shaped cams on an engine’s cam shaft, an adaptation of a wheel. Now think about trying to harness the power of pistons with round cams on the shaft.
So, reinventing the wheel can and should be done continuously, with varying degrees of modification. As I like to say, “just change the spokes,” to improve a product or method.
Can you imagine a life devoid of watches, whirring computer drives, Hula-hoops, gyroscopes, bicycles and cars? Countless improvements stem from reinventing the wheel.
Such reinvention relates directly to your business, to your products and to your success.
Can you genuinely improve any aspects of your business by reinvention, change, addition or deletion? Apple’s reinvention of the cell phone made its own signature product, the iPod, obsolete. In 2005, the iPod accounted for 45% of Apple’s revenue. The decision to combine the iPod and a digital camera into a cell phone made the iPhone one of the most successful products of all time.
With innovation after innovation, Apple figured out ways to simplify what others made complicated.
Another good example of this reinvention is evident with automobile tires. Tire evolution has produced tall tires, fat tires, tubeless tires, wide-oval tires, radial tires, low-profile tires, safe tires, rain effusing tires, long-wear tires, high-performance tires, racing tires, slick tires and low-rolling-resistance tires, to name a few.
Each change sought to improve upon the basic design to achieve greater speed, better cornering, blowout resistance, better looks and longer life. How about sustainable, recyclable tires? Perhaps tire-disposal fees will be eliminated in the future.
Now, doesn’t this wheel-reinvention thing create a need for better brakes? How about rims made out of aluminum, steel or titanium, or fancy reverse spinners. Do you remember mirrored half-moons?
Donut spare tires for short distances, run-flats and cigarette-lighter air pumps to temporarily re-inflate flat tires often replace regular spare tires.
Apply this reinvention thinking to your business processes, products – everything you do.
Will product changes create new business opportunities (spinoffs) or will they disrupt or kill existing categories? Can you connect dots of existing technologies, perhaps with a twist? Think creatively, think strategically. Consult a patent attorney if you think you have something unique.
If you don’t reinvent, your competition will surely surpass you. Experiment, make mistakes, test, test, test. But R&D should be done as inexpensively as affordable.
Think of reinvention as improving, though sometimes you may take a step backward. The important thing is to recognize your direction, forward, backward or sideways. Are you improving your product, method or services, or are you taking a step backward or sideways? Ask what else your product can be. Will your reinvention create a new paradigm, kill a category or is it simply an iterative improvement?
Everyone knows Post-it Notes, but not necessarily the story behind its success.
Initially, this product was a failure by 3M to develop a stronger adhesive. The product adhesive stuck but could easily be removed without damage to pages or to the note. Today Post-It Notes are one of the most successful office products of all time.
Do reinvent the wheel. Change the spokes!
Dennis Zink is an Exit Strategist, business analyst and consultant. A Certified Value Builder and SCORE mentor, and the past chapter chair of SCORE Manasota. Dennis created and hosts “Been There, Done That! with Dennis Zink,” a nationally syndicated business podcast series and “SCORE Business TV” available at www.Time4Exit.com. He facilitates CEO roundtables for the Manatee and Venice chambers of commerce. Dennis led a SCORE team to create the Exit Strategy Canvas and Exit Strategy Roadmap program that provides a real-world methodology for business equity realization. Email him at dennis@Time4Exit.com.
The Link LonkMarch 08, 2021 at 06:43PM
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/business/2021/03/08/dennis-zink-time-reinvent-wheel-again/6901940002/
BUSINESS ALCHEMIST: Time to reinvent the wheel, again - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
https://news.google.com/search?q=Wheel&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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