How to innovate: Sony camcorder with projector
The full list of outcomes for video is:
- Recording
- Storing
- Editing
- Locating / Selecting
- Viewing
- Disposing
Doing each of those anywhere, anytime, for whoever, for the price desired with no hassle is the ultimate.
Including a projector on the camcorder satisfied an outcome that was under-satisfied. It also utilized existing components so the extra feature was less cost than an extra device.
Future innovations will be in editing, and selected sharing. As I’ve mentioned in other posts augmented or diminished reality could be useful in a camcorder.
Doctors save left foot by attaching it to right leg
Doctors in China use many principles of Predictive Innovation® to save a man’s foot when it was cut off in an accident.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Doctors_put_left_foot_on_right_leg
The man’s foot was cut off because of an accident. The damage to the leg prevented the foot from being immediately reattached. So there was a dilemma.
Must re-attach the foot to the leg immediately so it doesn’t die; but, we can’t attach the foot until the leg heals and grows.
One way to handle dilemmas is to invert then rephrase. Instead of immediately reattaching the foot to the same leg they attached it to the other leg. This was a great idea because the patient would not be able to walk while the other leg was growing and healing after moving it to the correct leg. Attaching the foot to the patients other leg is the perfect environment for the foot while waiting.
Other approaches have been tried such as freezing the organ to be reattached. Current technology can’t reliably prevent damage from ice crystals.
Another improvement could be using stem cells cultured from the patient and sprayed onto a growth matrix. This could accelerate the grow and the healing when the foot is reattached.
Another inversion is to let the foot die and attach a cloned foot. That technology has already been used for less complicated body parts.
Secret to why McDonald’s Coke Tastes Best
Everyone who sells Coca-Cola fountain drinks uses the same syrup and fountain machines but McDonald’s tastes better. Learn McDonald’s impossible innovation.
If you’ve ever bought a Coca-Cola from a gas station soda fountain you’ve probably noticed it doesn’t taste the same as Coca-Cola from McDonald’s. You might have noticed that a Coke from other restaurants also don’t taste the same. If you look at how Coca-Cola controls every aspect from the syrup to the fountain machine you probably wonder why it doesn’t taste exactly the same everywhere.
If you are like most people, you agree Coca-Cola from McDonald’s tastes better than anywhere else. It’s hard to describe the exact way it tastes better but it certainly does. Moreover, it consistently tastes better at every McDonald’s.
What is McDonald’s the secret?
One of steps of Predictive Innovation® is to list the objects for a scenario. In the scenario of making Coca-Cola fountain drinks the objects are:
- water
- syrup
- CO2
- ratio of ingredients
- mix of ingredients
- temperature
Objects
Of all those objects, McDonald’s can only control two of them. The rest of the objects are controlled by Coca-Cola or the customers. The two things McDonald’s can control are their water and the freshness of the syrup. CO2 is a standard gas that makes the drink fizzy. The ratio of ingredients and the mix of ingredients is controlled by the fountain machine and that is set by Coca-Cola. Customers can change the temperature by adding ice. Water and freshness of syrup are the secret of McDonald’s fountain drink innovation.
Water
Water is 85% of a fountain drink. If the water is bad you will taste it. Like everything else McDonald’s does, they meticulously control their water. Each restaurant has a reverse osmosis filter providing the best water available. This not only makes the Coca-Cola taste better it also makes their coffee taste better. The water you get at McDonald’s is the cleanest anywhere and that is the #1 reason their fountain drinks taste the best.
Syrup
Most Coke retailers get their syrup in a bag box. These bag boxes are small and allow a retailer to provide Coke with a minimal investment.
McDonald’s sells a lot of Coke. They sell so much coke that they don’t need to buy the syrup in the small bag box. McDonald’s restaurants can get syrup delivered from a tanker truck and store it in a stainless steel cylinder. Because they sell a lot it doesn’t sit around as long. So the Coke syrup at McDonald’s is fresher than their competitors. Fresher syrup makes better tasting fountain drinks.
McDonald’s also controls freshness by cleaning everything daily. Letting syrup sit in hoses and machines allows it to chemically degrade and for bacteria to grow. Keeping everything clean also keeps it fresh and tasting good.
So even though all their competitors have the same basic ingredients that are required to be put together the exact same way, McDonald’s found a way to innovate and provide a better product.
Action Items
- What are the objects in your product or process?
- How can you change an object to innovate?
