Waiting for Invention

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Waiting for Invention

October 1, 2008. By Peter Lloyd

Ever hail a great idea with an exclamation like, "I wish I had thought of that!" Or along the same lines, ever wonder why some obvious bright ideas did not become great inventions sooner?

For example, what about wheels on luggage? It seems we should have enjoyed this major convenience a long time ago. We had wheels. We had luggage. We had even gone quite some time without the help of porters, schlepping our bags through train stations and airports, before someone put wheels and suitcases together.

Before that we fumbled around with fold-away luggage carriers. Did none of the world's inventors travel?

In her review of Burning with Desire by Geoffrey Batchen, a book about the conception of photography, Sarah Boxer writes that although photography could have been invented a hundred years earlier, "it had to wait for a crucial transformation of consciousness, which finally occurred around 1800."

One of the leading marketing executives of Procter & Gamble explained how difficult it was to convince mothers to use disposable diapers. Despite the obvious advantages, borne out by the eventual overwhelming acceptance of disposables, mothers insisted on using cloth diapers long after disposables were introduced. And back then, they weren't all environmentalists.

The reason for such slow acceptance of such a wonderful convenience--tradition. The ritual of diaper changing had been passed down form mother to daughter for ages. No newfangled diaper had a chance until it could be overcome by a transformation of consciousness.

The perfect invention is just ahead of the curve. A day, a week, a month. A year is stretching it. Synchronizing your invention with the necessary transformation of consciousness can mean the difference between coasting on the cutting edge and begging for bread on the bleeding edge.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest business problems.

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