CKIC Inventor Blog

The 7 Words Inventors Need to Hear & Have to Answer:

February 17th, 2010          
"Can You Show Me How It Works?"

OK, so you’ve been seized by a grand idea and have worked it out in your head into what you are sure will be the next great invention.  You can’t stop thinking about it, either; you’ve drawn it out first on a napkin at the restaurant, then on some scrap paper when you got home, then onto some notebook paper, then hopefully detailed into a bound notebook (the kind you can’t tear the pages out from), witnessed, signed and dated, as good inventors need to do.  And hopefully, each time you’ve re-drawn and subsequently made more notes into your notebook, you’ve made changes in the form of improvements, adding to your invention’s value, uniqueness and probability for success.  Unfortunately, this is where many inventors get the idea in their head that they are all done.  They’ll think, “wow, now all I have to do is take these notes to someone, and they’ll give me a million dollars!”.  Sure, it could happen, but you could also win the lottery, inherit money from a long lost relative or find a suitcase full of money on the street.  And I’m sorry to break the news to you, but if you’re only selling an idea on a napkin, most times your chances are about the same, at this point. 

The story is told of the inventor who could not get a meeting with a buyer, so he flew on his own expense overseas to the company and sat in the lobby all day with his prototype.  He showed everyone who walked into the office how it worked and gave demonstration after demonstration to anyone waiting in the company’s lobby.  Finally, the buyer came out of his office and told the inventor, “you have 30 seconds”.  The inventor simply turned on the prototype and the buyer was hooked.  The moral to this story is that you not only have to be persistent and aggressive, but you need to be able to show how your invention works. 

Most of the time the phrase, “imagine, if you will…” just doesn’t cut it.  I do have to say that what the guy did in the story was gutsy.  Was there a risk of the buyer seeing the prototype and saying, “thanks but no thanks” or worse yet, “get out of my lobby”? Sure, but you can bet the risk of hearing that was a whole lot higher if he only had a drawing, or worse yet, just tried to tell him about it.  As we say many times here at the CKIC, the further along you are with your invention in the process of taking it from an idea to actual product selling in the market, the greater your chances of selling it to someone to license or distribute.  So it makes a lot of sense if you can correctly answer the question that you will most certainly be asked from a potential buyer or licensee: “Can you show me how it works?”

So if you are at the “I’ve got it all written down right here” phase, and are doing all the other things we teach here at the CKIC such as finding out if it’s original, if there is a big enough market for it, etc., then it’s time to look at building a prototype.  There are many ways to go about making a prototype.  You can build one own your own, and if you’re good at that sort of thing, or feel you could be, go for it.  It’s probably the least risky as far as cost is concerned (if you can keep your material costs low), and if it doesn’t work out, you can always look at other options, such as having one made for you.  And in the invention process, you always have to anticipate a plan B, and sometimes a C, D, E or even F.  But that is how most of us progress forward.  When Thomas Edison was perfecting the light bulb, it is told that his prototypes failed more than 1,000 times.  When asked about it, he is to have said, “ I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways that will not work”. 

A single prototype isn’t always an end-all unto itself, either.  Remember how you made changes and improvements every time you re-drew or wrote it all down on paper?  That can and many times will most certainly happen in your prototype process.  You may even think that it is just perfect, until you get other people (and I don’t mean family, friends or neighbors) to critique it.  Your market may even want you to change something that you don’t like, or that you would personally hate as a change to your invention.  But remember, if you are the only one buying your invention, that’s just fine, leave it like it is, just the way you like it best.  But if you want everyone else to buy it and they want it different than what you want, then you have to make the change that will make it sellable to other people. 

So what’s the value of a prototype?  From a legal standpoint, a prototype or “working model” is usually strong evidence to demonstrate an actual “reduction to practice”, a legal term meaning the embodiment of the concept of your invention, which can help you when you get to the patenting phase.  From a marketing standpoint, the simple act of making a prototype could transform your invention’s potential. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a prototype is worth a thousand pictures. 

Are You A "Finish Line" Inventor?

January 28th, 2010                    
What is Holding You Back? 

As a lot of serial inventors/entrepreneurs do, I am always juggling two or more projects at a time.  One of these projects, an invention that has so far shown great promise, is in beta testing.  Beta testing is where you are giving your “baby” to other people to try.  Of course, these people aren’t going to love your baby like you do.  Nobody is going to love her like you do; it is your baby, your idea that you gave birth to and now, at least in your mind, she is a beautiful toddler that can do no wrong.  And if you’re a seasoned inventor and this isn’t your first barbeque, you know that.  You keep telling yourself that you know that, but you still can’t help but feel the twinge of “I hope they don’t treat her badly or tell me she’s ugly” somewhere deep in your heart of hearts.  So you go forward, making sure that everything is just perfect before you hand her over for some strangers to kick the tires.  And kick they do.  In this my current incarnation of this scenario, the beta testers have come back with multiple suggestions, comments that usually start out like: “You know, it’s nice but it would really be a lot easier to work with if it had this”, or “I would buy one if it did that”.  And again, if you’ve been to this dance before, you know what happens next.  You go back to the workshop and work on the improvements.  That is where this particular invention is at right now, and that’s bad for me, because this is where I know I can easily get stuck. 

An inventor can get “stuck” in so many different places in the invention process, for the simple reason that there are so many different types of things an inventor has to do to be successful.  Without the guidance, support, education and wisdom to know how to tackle each of these steps, many an inventor can suddenly feel like they are in way over their head, get stuck and many times, just stay stuck.  One can imagine that all over the country you could find countless notebooks, patent filings, prototypes, and even small manufacturing run inventories that have ended up just sitting somewhere, gathering dust, because an inventor hit a stumbling block, didn’t know what to do about it or what to do next, and then just stopped, frozen in their timeline from idea to market. 

If you are an inventor and feel like your invention is frozen in time, don’t despair.  First off, remember that it’s human nature to stay where we feel the most comfortable.  Maybe you are an idea person, and you love to come up with ideas.  Perhaps you even have some sketched out on paper.  Maybe you’re good at documentation, and have notes, drawings and files galore of your ideas.  Maybe you are a “tinkerer” inventor, and you love to create and build.  And you have a garage or basement of both finished and unfinished prototypes to prove it.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with those things, as long as doing those things is what you want as your end result.  If you want your invention to make money, however, you have to move to the next step, and the one after that, and so on, until you reach the finish line. 

It’s only natural to get stuck and feel intimidated by not knowing what to do next.  We feel good in our own comfort zone where we know what we know and don’t have to worry about what we don’t know.  When we’re confronted by the fear of the unknown, say, not knowing what to do after we’ve made a prototype, many times we just shut down.  Here lies the crossroads of success and failure.  Here is where it is so easy to become disenchanted with our original idea, and start on a new one.  After all, there are usually so many new projects to choose from in the fertile, creative minds of inventors.  And starting a new project will make us still feel like we’re moving forward, but still staying in our comfort zone, not having to push the limits, face any unknown or potentially hard terrain, or learn anything new.  This is also where we can end up with a mountain of great invention projects, all unfinished, never seeing their true potential.  How do we break free from this cycle?  This is where information becomes power.  It’s not easy, but you can learn what you need to do next.  It’s not quick either, as the saying goes, we don’t use microwaves here; we use crock-pots.  True successful inventing is a process, one you have to learn, apply to your situation and work on with the passion and intensity that you see in and learn from other successful inventors. 

You could also be at a point where you feel like you’ve made a mistake and think it’s “game over”.  This may not necessarily be true.  Sure, there are many times when you find out that you should walk away (the earlier you find this out the cheaper and better), but maybe you’ve just fell down and haven’t gotten back up yet.  Maybe you’ve gotten out there and found out that inventing is not always as glamorous, easy and fun as you thought it ought to be.  As any successful inventor will tell you, it’s not always rainbows and sunshine.  It can many times be hard work.  But you can never learn a new skill or accomplish anything without it. 

Maybe you feel like you have hit a dead-end, a roadblock where you are stopped by some element such as cost, skill or time.  This is where successful inventors use their secret weapon: their ingenuity.  By using the very talent that so many inventors posses in abundance, you may be able to find another route around the roadblock, one that puts you back on the road and sometimes, even ahead of the pack.

Sometimes inventors feel they need to do it all themselves, and don’t want to let anyone else in.  When these inventors hit a hurtle that they cannot clear by themselves, they get stuck and feel they can’t reach out for help.  For most of us, at some point of the process we will need help in some area.  This is where networking with others can be so crucial.   

Whatever may be holding you back from making the finish line, just remember that others who have run this race have made it, and so can you. 

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Invent Like a Marine

December 24th, 2009       
Improvise, Adapt and Overcome 

As I’m writing this during the holidays, I am 3-fold reminded of what I found written on a fire department t-shirt a few weeks ago.  I was later reminded that the quote “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome” is actually an unofficial mantra of the Marine Corps, based on the fact that the Corps was used to receiving Army hand-me-downs and traditionally the troops were poorly equipped.  In spite of this perceived disadvantage, the Marine Corps has been successful mostly because of the creativity of it’s people and their success-based attitude.  I believe this amazing capacity for creative thinking stems from a Marine’s utter drive and dedication towards accomplishing the mission, even when faced with what appear to be impossible odds. 

I mentioned that this reminder was 3-fold.  After seeing this on the t-shirt, I remembered that the motto was made famous by Clint Eastwood in the movie “Heartbreak Ridge” (though it’s been around since well before the movie).  Now that it’s the holidays, the thoughts of many of us are directed toward those serving our country in the all the branches of the armed forces around the globe, some in remote and hostile areas far away from their families.  This convergence of reminders has got me to thinking about how we as inventors can take a cue from these military innovators, those that have a lot more on the line as they are thinking literally on their feet. 

Like the marines, inventors and entrepreneurs have a mission, a battle plan that hits the ground on an ever-changing landscape.  For instance, this year we have watched a major change in the economic landscape.  And as I have said before in other blogs and in meetings over the last year, this is not the time to go hide and stick our heads in the sand.  Many have been forced to do more with less, while some of us have had limited resources to work with from the get-go.  Marines, likewise, have historically had to do without.  They are the smallest branch of the service and get an even smaller share of the DOD budget.  But this has forced them to actually achieve more with less.  It is so strongly infused into their being that they just expect to get short changed and still come out on top.  They just develop an attitude of never letting a little adversity get in their way. 

Perhaps one or more fronts of your invention landscape has changed.  Perhaps it’s your market: the people who would buy your invention now would not or wouldn’t buy for the same reasons they would last year.  Perhaps it’s your resources and you have to find another way to get your prototype developed.  Or perhaps you now have to find a new and different way to protect your IP (Intellectual Property).  This is the part where you need to improvise.  It may not be as pretty a route as you originally imagined, but sometimes it doesn’t matter how you got there, just that you did. 

When things look impossible, the marines get more creative.  This is also a mantra we hear a lot here at the CKIC.  Inventors are the innovators, and we are the people everyone looks to for creativity.  While we nearly have this creativity in our blood, we sometimes get so focused on being creative on the front inventing end, we fail to realize that we can “adapt” this creativity to other areas of the inventing process.  When faced with a shortage of materials, information or even time, what do you do?  Do you give up? Just sit there and let everything come to a standstill?  Or do you try to get more information and attempt to come up with a viable solution? 

Maybe the most important part of this mantra is to Overcome.  This is part that describes our actions when we surmount an unexpected obstacle.  The marines call this “accomplishing the mission”.  This is that tenacity I see in inventors, many who have diminished resources, who become successful; and this is what I see missing in the inventors who have more resources that end up being unsuccessful.  If there was one secret ingredient to successful inventing, this may be it. 

So when faced with a changing situation or one that seems nearly too big to tackle, just remember that you have a weapon at your disposal that many do not: your creativity. 

Here’s hoping you have a Merry Christmas and an innovative, prosperous 2010! 

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The Audacious Inventor

November 23rd, 2009 
Why You Can’t Invent Something Unless It Will Work  

“I can’t change the laws of physics, Captain.” – Scotty to Captain Kirk, Star Trek.  Unfortunately, we as inventors can't either. 

Every once and awhile, we here at the CKIC hear from inventors that have come up with something that is what you could call “over the top”.  Something that, if it could be done, would be bigger than big.  But herein lies the question that many who bring the next great world-changing, earth-shattering whatever to the table at the Inventors Workshop have yet to answer: Can you make it work?  Or better yet: Have you made one and can you prove that it works?  They say the proof is in the pudding, and in the world of inventing for not just fun but money, you’d better know how to cook.  Or at least know the recipe and have someone ready who can and will cook it.  In other words, if you are claiming you have an invention that will re-write the textbooks, you’d better have a working model that you can demonstrate.  In legal terms, this is called reducing your invention to practice.  In layman’s terms, this is called showing them you can do it. 

One thing you will hear repeated at the Inventors Workshop, where members can come and discuss their invention in a closed, protected format, is that if you say that you have invented a time machine, you need to bring it in and prove it.  And while we’ve not gotten anyone who’ve come in to claim that distinction, some inventors have come in with what one would call “audacious” ideas.  Not that there’s anything wrong with aiming high with your ideas and subsequent inventions.  But you do have to have the ability to prove it. 

Now I’m not saying that every inventor needs to have a working model to bring in to the Inventors Workshop.  In fact, we encourage inventors at every stage of his or her invention to come and share, ask questions and receive valuable input.  This means it could be as advanced as a prototype, or as simple as a drawing or just an idea.  What I am saying is that if you claim you can levitate, time-travel, or transmit matter over the telephone, you are going to need something more than just claiming you can do it. 

Enter physicist Ronald Mallett.  A professor at the University of Connecticut, this brave innovator says he is developing a way to create the world’s first time machine (for subatomic particles).  The proposed technology is based on a ring laser’s properties within the context of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. So Mallett’s plan is to use a laser to create a kink in the fabric of space and form a time loop. Mallett’s experiment would require a “ring laser” – a device reflected through a series of mirrors until it eventually hits itself.  The space inside the ring laser would be dragged around, much like coffee being stirred by a spoon.  According to Mallett, what would then occur is the formation of a “time loop: that would enable the sending of information to an earlier point in time.  While we’ve only heard about Professor Mallett through the media, and while many people may have serious objections with his theories, you have to admit that he has certainly aimed high.  But you have to note that he is on the right track as far as one point he makes: “the only way we’ll ever know is to conduct the experiment”, he says.

Audacious? Yes, but my hat’s off to him anyway.  While this may be the wildest idea I’ve ever heard from a university professor, he is going in the right direction in knowing that while you can theorize, you have to prove it, especially if you want someone to take you seriously. 

So remember, while you may not be able to break the laws of physics, sometimes, if you’re very, very clever, you may just find a way to bend them.  Just be ready to prove it.

So How’s Your Security System?

November 1st, 2009

The Kind of “Obstacles” You May Need

We’ve had a lot of really great programs at our annual Inventors Conference over the last 5 years, so I’m probably a little biased when I say that this year’s program was one of the best ever.  But it sure felt like it was!  If you missed our big annual event this month, you missed a lot: We learned about the great resources available right here in Lexington KY: Research on products, markets, etc. at the Central Public Library, business assistance from the KY Small Business Development Center, and of course all the things we do here at the CKIC!  Sandwiched between this great information and the plethora of inventors, inventions, and service providers in the exhibits afterwards, we heard from a special keynote speaker: Louis Foreman.  Louis is the publisher of Inventors Digest, executive producer of the Emmy award-winning PBS show Everyday Edisons, and author of the new book, “The Independent Inventor’s Handbook”.  Louis gave a great presentation on the subject of inventing and inventors.  Among the many great points that he made during his presentation, one of the subjects that he touched on during his time talking with us that really stuck with me was when he mentioned the value of patent protection.  To paraphrase, he said that while patenting isn’t a foolproof way to protect your product from being copied, and that while even some inventions and their subsequent products are not good candidates for a patenting strategy, in many cases one should “put as many obstacles in the way of competitors that makes economic sense” to protect yourself in the market.  I really liked the word “obstacles” that he used. 

I would liken this line of thinking to another analogy, one where you would picture your invention as a valuable piece of property that you are keeping in your home.  You already know there are people out there that would like nothing more than to break into your house, find those valuables, and take them from you.  This is why we lock our doors at night.  The more you want to protect your valuables, the more you work and/or spend on keeping your home secure.  The person who props a chair up under the doorknob of his home is going to have a different level of protection than the person who springs for the high-tech security system.  But in any case, it stands to reason that the more deterrents you can put in someone’s way to get to your valuables, the less likely they’ll take the time, patience and energy to overcome those obstacles and get to your stuff.

You may feel OK with just a good solid deadbolt on your outside doors that you install yourself.  Or you may be the kind of person that does not feel safe unless you have a professional come in and install deadbolts along with several chain latches everywhere.  Everyone is different with respect to the amount of work they’re willing to do themselves, what they’re willing to pay for and their safety comfort zone verses the level of risk they’re willing to take.  Typically, an inventor will weigh factors such as cost, risk, and the resources they posses that range from skill, education, experience, and money to find their own personal sweet spot and make the wisest decision possible. 

And by the way, if all you have is an idea right now, it may not be as valuable as you think it is in its current form.  This value, whether perceived or otherwise, is when you are making and selling your invention.  This is when the market has sat up, taken notice and is responding.  Unfortunately, so has the competition. This is where the true market value of your invention has increased and you have the greater potential of people wanting to copy your invention. 

So learn all you can, weigh all of your particular options and make the wisest choice you can with respect to your own intellectual property’s “security system”. 

The Pain of Serendipity

October 6th, 2009
Finding the Best Opportunities Can Sometimes Be Painful

While nitrous oxide was discovered in 1772, for decades the gas was considered as no more than a party toy.  People knew that inhaling a little of it would make you laugh (hence the name “laughing gas”), and that inhaling a little more of it would knock you unconscious.  But it had not occurred to anyone that a gas with such properties might be useful in, say, surgical operations.  Enter dentist Horace Wells (no relation to H.G.).  In 1844, 72 years after it’s discovery, Horace witnessed a mishap at one of those “nitrous” parties that gave him an idea.  High on the gas, a friend of Wells fell and suffered a deep gash in his leg, but didn’t feel a thing.  In fact, he didn’t know he’d been seriously injured until someone pointed out the blood pooling at his feet.  

To test his theory, Wells arranged an experiment with himself as the guinea pig.  He knocked himself out by inhaling a large dose of nitrous oxide, and then had a dentist extract a rotten tooth from his mouth.  When Wells came to, his tooth had been pulled painlessly.  

Of course you don’t have to pull teeth to make good discoveries, although it sometimes may feel like it.  As inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs, our best discoveries and most fruitful ideas can come from accidental and sometimes even painful experiences.  For instance, many an economic downturn can make true innovators pay attention to a new idea that they would not have before.  Perhaps even now, you are seeing something you would have never seen in good times.  If you are seeing this, and it has given you a new idea on how you could turn it into something good, and something that could make money, then that’s a good thing, even if it came with some pain.  

Pain is like that.  Someone said recently that pain can actually be helpful and instructive.  It shows us where we’ve gone off track and points us back in the right direction.  And that’s always a good thing.  So don’t be afraid of pain.  Face it.  Deal with it.  See what it’s showing you.  Find the answers to the problems it’s highlighting.  This gives you the opportunity to clean up the messes the pain is uncovering.   Because that’s what we do as inventors – we solve problems.  

The economy won’t be bad forever.  Make this the year you do something with the opportunities that are set before you!

Do I Cut the Red Wire or the Blue Wire?

August 28th, 2009

Deciding Which Way to Go in the Invention Process

You’ve probably watched this scene a thousand times on TV and at the Movies. They’ve found the bad guy’s “device”, the clock is ticking, and now all they have to do is disarm it. They open some panel, and there they are: the red and the blue wires. Of course, they also just so happen to conveniently have a pair of wire cutters, but now the tension rises as they are posed with the question everyone in the audience already knows. “Do I cut the red wire or the blue wire?” One of these wires, if cut, will spell disaster. The other will save the day. But how to know which is the right one?

In Hollywood, the scenario usually always plays out the same way. The hero will have several tense moments, followed by almost cutting the wrong wire and then at the last second, just before all is lost, cuts the right wire. This is usually followed by a happy, emotional scene and the rolling of the credits. So much for Hollywood.

In the world of inventing, we are often faced with a “do I cut the red wire or the blue wire” dilemma. Do I have my invention/product manufactured and sell them myself or license it to someone? Do I sell direct to the end-user or through distributors? How sophisticated should I make my prototype? How much should I spend on patent protection? How much of the work should I do myself and how much should I hire to have done? The questions go on and on. And that countdown clock is ticking, too. The one that makes you worry that someone is going to scoop you and you’ll wake up some morning and see the product you thought of on TV (this is happened to many of us). Another one, ticking very loudly for many of us, is the countdown between the time we file a provisional patent and the 12 month deadline to file our non-provisional. While all this can seem almost as dramatic as the Hollywood scene described above, it’s a good bit different, especially when it’s real life, it’s you and it’s your money and time.

We see a lot of these questions and a lot people faced with these same dilemmas at here at the CKIC. And unlike the red wire or the blue wire, the answers may depend on a number of different factors such as your industry, your situation and your invention itself. The best place to try and wrestle with these questions, I think, is our Inventors Workshop. The benefit of the Workshop (one of them, anyway) is that you don’t just talk with one person and get one person’s opinion, but you get a broad variety of information, viewpoints and expertise from a wide cross-section of people, professions and experience.

There is another “red or blue wire” question that is also posed to many inventors, especially to those of us that are considered prolific inventors. And that is what project to work on next. Many seasoned inventors have ideas come to them all the time, to the point many of us have more ideas than we know we’ll ever have time to work on. So we have to pick and choose, which makes for another hard decision. Personally, I like to try and keep my ear to the ground, and find out what’s going on out there. For instance, in this current economic downturn, some inventions that were good opportunities may not be so much now, as others that were not good opportunities before could now be hot commodities.

At any rate, when trying to find what the right thing to do is, I like to go back to an old proverb: “In a multitude of counselors there is safety”. Get the information you need to comfortably make a decision, and before the clock ticks down to zero, cut the right wire!

"Invent, Baby, Invent!"

 

August 1st, 2009
Why We are in a Climate of Opportunity

If you really want to make yourself fearful, depressed, or otherwise just upset, all you have to do nowadays is just turn to one of the “talking head” channels and listen long enough. This has not been more true than it has in over the last year, with all the bad economic news to fuel the fire. I heard someone comment recently on a mantra of the news media being “if it bleeds, it leads”. Paul Harvey even once said about his profession that too many times “we become garbage-men, hauling out the trash”. The unfortunate truth is that you see way too many stories in the media about problems and way too little about those who are truly creating solutions to those problems.

Yes, we are in a down economic climate right now, and if you follow the news-lemmings of the world, you will most likely go hide in your cave and try to “ride it out”, waiting for someone else to do something to change the economic climate and make everything all better. As inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs, I think this is where we could make a really stupid mistake.

Thomas Friedman made a statement a few months ago saying that instead of chanting “drill, baby, drill”, we should be saying “invent, baby, invent”. I should also mention that in the context of his statement, Friedman also maintained that he did believe we should drill here and drill now, trying to take his statement out of the political partisan rhetoric realm (I would hope) and rather emphasize an issue that is above divisive politics, and an absolute imperative of United States right now: inventing and innovation.

To further paraphrase Friedman, (if you’ve not read his book, “The World is Flat”, I highly recommend it) history is full of examples where recessions have been a time when new companies, innovations and inventions are born. These inventions become successful by distinctly separating themselves from their competition. When times are tight, people look for new, less expensive ways to do old things. This necessity breeds invention. We won’t stimulate ourselves into prosperity; we have to invent our way there. There has of late been way too much talk of minting dollars and way too little about minting the next Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jerry Yang and Bill Joy.

Jeff Immelt, the chief of General Electric, said in a speech a few weeks ago that this moment is “an opportunity to turn financial adversity into national advantage, to launch innovations of lasting value to our country.”

I am validated and more than a little heartened to hear people like Friedman and Immelt echo both what we have been thinking here in our little corner of the inventing world all this year, and to the point where we have made it our theme for this year’s Inventors Conference.

The theme for our annual Inventors Conference this year, in case you’ve not heard yet, is “A Climate of Opportunity”, and aptly named, I think, for inventors in this year of 2009. This year, both at our Inventors Conference and overall, opportunities don’t just exist, they abound.

So if you are an inventor, this is not a time for you to hang your head down thinking now that times are bad, your opportunity has passed you by. This IS your opportunity. Don’t miss it!

Bernie Madoff Has Nothing On These Guys

July 1st, 2009 

When Invention Scam Companies Attack

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, you’ve heard about Bernie Madoff, the self-confessed author of the biggest financial swindle in history. He was sentenced this week to the maximum 150 years behind bars for what his judge called an "extraordinarily evil" fraud that shook the nation's faith in its financial and legal systems and took "a staggering toll" on rich and poor alike. In court, nine of his victims confronted Mr. Madoff in court, calling him a “monster” and a “low life”.

When we think of these kinds of scams, we tend to think of Wall Street and investors with large portfolios. But scams that can take you for your hard-earned money can be a little closer to home. Actually, they can be a lot closer to home. Let me give you the example that was the inspiration for this blog: A couple of meetings ago, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with an inventor that was visiting us for the first time. In the course of our conversation, this young man shared his story of contacting one of those “invention promotion firms” that advertise on late night TV and radio. Not to get into any details, his story was so typical of so many inventors we’ve seen here at the CKIC, tragically all too late: they took several thousand dollars from him and basically did little to nothing for it.

According to the USPTO, invention promotion scams cost inventors $200 million annually, conning about 25,000 inventors in the process. “The problem is”, according to Richard Maulsby, director of public affairs for the USPTO, “is companies that prey on inventors and would-be entrepreneurs, collecting thousands of dollars from them up-front for all sorts of inflated -- sometimes impossible -- promises. Typically, inventors spend between $10,000 and $20,000 on such services, only to wind up with disappointing results.”

Unfortunately, for inventors, “Bernie” is still out there. He’s on TV, radio and the internet, trying to get you to call or email in for your “free information”. He’s emailing you, trying to look like one of us, trying to win your trust and get you to send him your money. He’ll tell you anything and everything you want to hear about your invention – how it’s great, how they’ve got buyers lined up ready to buy your invention, and how the only thing holding the deal up is for you to just send another $200, $500 or $1,000.

Now with that said, on the other hand don’t let paranoia take over and start thinking everyone is out to cheat you over your invention. There are a lot of good, no, great resources out there that can really help inventors. Ones that can realistically tell you the truth (good, bad and ugly) about your invention’s chances and the real work (yes, you need to work to make it happen) it will take. You just have to keep your eyes open and know what to look out for. As we’ve said so many times before, don’t manage by abdication. You have to take control, not leaving someone else to do everything. So many invention scam companies tout themselves as a company where you can just let them do it all for you.

Of course, a great way to find reliable resources is to educate yourself and network with other good inventors at places like right here at the CKIC. If you know what you really need to do, and are hanging around successful inventors and watching what they are doing, you’ll be able to spot Bernie a lot better, sometimes from a long way off.

May 28th, 2009

Dead Reckoning

Finding where you are, where you want to be, and how to get there.

At this month’s open meeting at the CKIC, we talked about the steps that an inventor needs to know in order to increase his or her chances of being successful at inventing. And nearly everyone is at different stages in their invention journey. Many inventors are just starting out, and everything can be new and exciting, plus scary and intimidating all at the same time. Many of you have been around the invention block a few times. Yet still many others of you out there in inventorland have taken a few steps up the ladder and have come back down – part scared, part worried, and part not knowing what to do next.

A good friend of mine, and CKIC alumnus Rob Voorhees (inventor of the SureStay and the 10 Dimensions of Wealth) tells in his money-management seminars that in order to be successful, you need to “know where you are, where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there”. Not too long after hearing that proverbial gold nugget, I stumbled across a somewhat obscure term called “Dead Reckoning”. The term dates back from the 17th century, as seafaring navigators estimated their positions of their ships based solely on speed, direction of travel and time elapsed since their last known position. I am told it is still used some today by both sailors and aviators. As inventors, many times we need to do a little “dead reckoning” in our invention process. This brings me to the first part of Rob’s quote, to “know where you are”. Where are you in the process of bringing your idea to a marketable invention? The best way to start is to look at the steps like the ones we outlined this month and see what step you are on. Then find our what your next step needs to be. Now comes the hard part: to begin working on where you need to be, that next step.

Now let’s say that you find that you aren’t skilled or just don’t like the work involved in the next step. You may want to research, quote and pay a reputable someone (with good references) to do the work of that next step for you. Personally, I hate painting. I would rather have someone hit me with the broad side of a shovel as have to paint. And I’m not really very good at it. Whenever I did have the misfortune to try and paint myself, I would usually get more paint on every other object (including myself) than whatever it was I was suppose to paint. So when I need painting done, I call a professional painter. But here’s the important point to this: when I call the painter, I’d better know who I want, what I want, how I want it done and what a fair price would be, that is if I don’t want to risk ending up paying way too much for a shoddy job that in the end I’ll greatly regret. This could not be stressed as of any less importance for the process of inventing. The painter is also going to ask me questions: What rooms do I want painted? What color? Flat or high gloss? Latex or enamel? Roller or brush? So learn all you can learn about what your next step needs to be and do your homework. Learn it and know well enough so you can confidently talk to people about it. Then you can do the “how you’re going to get there” part with a much reduced risk of failure, getting ripped off or both.

Our seafaring friends of the 17th century also knew that they were embarking on a long journey, not just a short trip. Likewise, inventing is not a get-rich-quick proposition: we don’t use microwave ovens here, we use crock-pots. The steps that an inventor needs to take to be truly successful are not quick and many times not easy, but the results can be very rewarding on a number of levels.

Avoiding the Inventor’s “Powerball” Trap

May 1st, 2009

The Dangers of a “Lottery” Mindset When Inventing

You’ve seen these people. You may even actually know some of them. Those people whose only hope in life for financial security it seems is going by the convenience store on a Friday and playing the Powerball. Those that think that without much effort, they will be set for life if they can just have that winning combination of numbers. “If I keep buying tickets then eventually I must win”, they think.

It is said that the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is about 1 in 195 million. Yet millions of people continue to pay more and more money chasing one dream, living on nothing more than hope that they will be that one in 195 million. Even though you may know of someone who did actually win in the lottery, my personal philosophy remains that while it’s not impossible to win, it’s really, really close! Whatever your opinion on the lottery, I believe that there are some parallels and an important lesson we can learn, one that can keep us from the trap of what I call the “Powerball” mentality when it comes to inventing.

So you’ve done it; you’ve invented the next great whatever. This is your baby, an idea that you gave birth to that is actually taking a form and shape! What an exciting adventure you are on! And because of all this, you are pouring your heart and soul into it. Mind you, these things are not bad within themselves. In fact they are very good things, and most times part of the necessary elements that can lead to success. But there is a pitfall to watch out for. While you need dedication, passion and drive among many other things that are necessary to bring your idea to fruition (many of which we’ll be talking about in our May meeting), don’t fall victim to the idea that this is the one and only ticket you will ever have to fame and fortune. And by the way, if you’re looking for a get-rich-quick route for inventing, you’re in the wrong place. We don’t sell microwave ovens here; we sell crock-pots. Successful inventors are in it for the long haul. And while you have to keep that thought in the back of your mind that while you are on this journey, there may be some turns in the road. Your current vision for your invention may not be what it actually turns out to need to be in the real world. Or (perish the thought!) you may even end up finding that your original idea was merely a step to something much bigger and better. Your current idea or invention may lead you to something completely different that may lead you to something else that may lead you to another thing that may lead you to the best invention you never knew you’d think of.

Most successful inventors have had more than one idea. If you’re a seasoned inventor, you know what I mean. One idea seems to beget another, until after a while they start reproducing like rabbits! I’ve got a file I call my “idea bin” that keeps getting thicker and thicker with ideas for projects and inventions, many of which I know I will never be able to get to in my lifetime. The good part of this, though, is I always have a lot of ideas to choose from when it’s time to look at a new project.

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to be moving from one idea to the next every other week. I’m not saying that. You need to be focused on what you’re doing in order to succeed. What I am saying is that you have to be open to new opportunities as they present themselves to you. There is a balance that has to be maintained between focus and openness: On the one hand you don’t want to “invention-hop”, as it will never give you enough focus to spend the needed energy to bring life to any one idea. On the other, however, you don’t want to wind up like those people in the lottery line, either, hanging on to that one idea even when logic dictates that it may be time to look to a more promising project.

Regardless of whether your first idea is a smashing success or just doesn’t work out at all, it doesn’t mean that you should stop there. The more times you work through the invention process, the more you learn and the sharper your skills become. Unlike the lottery, the more you play at this game, the better you get as more of the risk is spread out. In inventing, one idea doesn’t have to be your only chance for success.

What Speed Is Your Invention Traveling At?

March 31st, 2009

As you may have noticed, we have had a lot of new and exciting things happening just lately at the CKIC. Last month, we were selected for a beta test program that offered free training and submission in the new USA National Innovation Marketplace from Planet Eureka. This coming Saturday (April 4th) a new business accelerator, Awesome, Inc., is holding a “Startup Saturday – Inventions in a Day” where our inventors are invited to an event where engineers, idea people, and tinkerers of all types will try to go from idea to prototype in a day, learning and networking in the process. Then at our following monthly Open Meeting on Tuesday, April 7th, Ron Reardon, President of the United Inventors Association is traveling to Lexington to speak to us.

While all of this is yet going on, there are even other new programs, initiatives and opportunities for inventors in the works that we’re already hearing and talking to people about. It seems as if everything is happening all at once at the speed of light in the world of inventing and innovation. And for all the gloom and doom you hear from the talking heads in the media these days, I have never seen so much in the way of movement, new programs, initiatives and opportunities for inventors than I have in just the last few months. Come to think of it, there are more tools to give the independent inventor a leg up now than there ever was 20, 10 or even 5 years ago.

This climate of opportunity for inventors notwithstanding, when things start happening all at once it can be hard just to keep up with all the new information. If all this seems a bit overwhelming to you, it certainly does to me. But business, inventing – and life – seems to do that so many times. The old adage is true, “when it rains, it pours” or “feast or famine”, take your pick. Seldom do we have a steady pace with which to keep up. This is ever so true for the inventor working through the invention process. We move along at that fast-paced, adventurous clip that is overwhelming, exciting and intimidating all at the same time. Then we hit the dry spell, the desert, that place where we feel “stuck” at and just can’t seem to make any progress at all. It is at these times when we feel like we are going nowhere with our invention, and the place where many people give up, not knowing that the rain is just over the horizon. I can identify with both of these emotions, particularly in light of my current invention project, now in the beta test phase. If you had asked me several months ago, I would have told you about how I was stuck with one critical component and could not find the simple answer I was looking for. Just before I was about to trash my uncompleted prototype and start over from scratch, an idea struck me of “one last place” that I had not looked for this component. And as providence would have it, I found not only the right component that would complete my prototype, but one that worked even better than if I had designed it for just that particular purpose.

As I was reminded by one of our inventor members just this week, it’s easy to feel like it’s just taking too long to get any traction with the progress of your invention. But good inventions sometimes take time – and patience – to move forward through the slow phases. But with that patience, work, networking and learning process, it doesn’t take too long before it feels like time itself had sped up and you’re to the point where you think you can’t keep up. And that in itself is an exciting, yet daunting, place to be.

How Do I Know If I Have a Good Idea?

February 24th, 2009

This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions that are posed by inventors: to themselves, to colleagues, and to our group.

There are a couple of quotations; one of which is mentioned all too frequently by inventors, and another that is mentioned far too few times. The overused and often misinterpreted one goes:

“If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your doorstep!”

The one that is not used enough but bears repeating, is by Thomas Edison:

“Invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”.

I think Edison had it right. And if you’re trying to find out if your invention is truly a good idea, it involves just that – perspiration! I’m talking about the kind of perspiration that involves hours of study, learning, research, phone calls, and long roads that lead to dead ends, making you start all over again down another uncertain road. It basically involves long, boring hard work. The kind of work that involves patience and discipline, as it can be not much fun much of the time. Of course there are good parts: the rewards can be exciting, and sometimes the invention process road can be sort of an adventure. But it’s those boring parts that usually trip us up along the way and get us stuck. Think of it this way – the idea is, well, just an idea. The record of it is a blueprint, but the building is not built until all the other work and construction is completed.

So learn what you need to know and then do what you need to do. You can start the learning, connecting and idea feedback from our meetings and workshops, respectively. Impartial research and feedback are so important when you are trying to find out if your idea will fly in the real world. And there are a lot of resources out there. If you’ve not been to a CKIC Inventors Workshop, it’s also a great way to get honest feedback on your idea and what directions you can go with it.

Many people think of their idea as their baby. Even when we try not to do it, we sometimes just can’t help it. And nobody likes to be told that their baby is ugly. But if we truly want to get honest opinions about the validity of our ideas, we need to go where we know they will tell us if our baby is ugly. This is so important for the value of our time and money, as we don’t want to miss the right road of a good idea by continuing down the wrong one.

This Is Our Shining Moment

January 27th, 2009

I have an old book I keep around that was written sometime in the early 80’s, I think. The title goes something like, “The Coming Great Depression of the 1989”. In spite of whatever the book actually talks about, I’ve been keeping this book with the panic-stricken title around as a reminder of something I think is now becoming fairly current.

I remember the early 80’s. For me, it was a very rough time indeed. From that vantage point, the book with the depressing title looked every bit like it had the possibility of coming true. But it didn’t.

To hear all of the naysayers out there, it’s easy to think that now, like 1980, everything is bad, there is no opportunity and there is nothing we can do about it. One thing is true: we are facing troubled economic times. There are a lot of problems out there in a lot of areas. But this is where we can become short-sighted.

Creativity and innovation does not dry up in an economic downturn. You most likely got up this morning with the same amount of ideas (most of us with even more) than you had before all the talking heads told us the sky was falling (see the blog about the “Chicken Little Virus”). If anything, this truly is our shining moment. We, as inventors and innovators, are natural problem-solvers. This means that the more problems there are to solve, the more opportunities await us. This is our call to action. These problems – I like to call them challenges – are what we are built to overcome. It’s like the building is on fire, the alarm is sounding and we are the firemen (or women)!

So with that, I want to challenge you. Instead of going along with the crowd and falling into a emotional depression ahead of the proposed economic one, look for those problems, seek them out, snatch them out of the air and do what you do best: find the solutions. Because it will be those people who do exactly that – and people will – who will be leading the charge to their own personal economic recovery.

It’s Alive! Building the “Frankentype”

January 3rd, 2009

So there you were, in your garage, tinkering with this and that and then, eureka! You may have even had a vision from the old Frankenstein movie where the doctor exclaims, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”. So many of us have been there.

The Frankentype. You may have built one already and don’t even know it. This is the prototype that was built from a spare part here and loose nut there, all put together with bailing wire, sweat, spit, a little glue and that idea that struck you in the middle of the night. It may not be pretty. It may not even work out to be sellable, but it’s your baby. You thought it up, you built it and you made it actually work.

I’m talking about the prototype that was built without the cushy funding that provides the normally expensive custom design, mold, milling or tooling that a lot of products get, a purely raw, by-the-seat-of-your-pants working-without-a-net prototype where you’ve literally gone out to the “graveyard” of other products, components and industries and snuck back in the dark of night like the Igor of Dr. Frankenstein fame, and cobbled together, at least in your eyes, your beautiful masterpiece, cheating a death by funding and patting yourself on the back for your own ingenuity.

Of course, sometimes this works and sometimes it just doesn’t.

There are several incarnations of the Frankentype. The first one is always the ugliest, the one only an inventor could love. The 2nd one may only impress your closest (or kindest) friends and family. But then there’s that 3rd version, the beta that will have to survive the brutally honest, very real world. Like I said, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. Depending on your invention, this may be the point where you have to decide if it’s worth your while to start spending the money needed to make it survive the calloused eye of the consumer.

Or you could get lucky. For instance, a recent project of mine involved parts from the hardware, fluid power, HVAC, automotive and container packaging industries. The ironic thing is that the application for this product isn’t in any of these markets.

Fortunately, this was a product where we could find the right, functional, off-the-shelf components that gave our finished product a “finished” look, without having to make anything from scratch. So far, at least, this has passed the “real world” test.

This also takes a tremendous amount of patience. As in marketing and many other parts of the inventing process, you sometimes have to try all the doorknobs to find out which one will open. One very simple component took months to find just the right one and had a lot of “there’s just not anything out there” moments.

A Frankentype will help do 2 things. First, there won’t be a large cash outlay if the product flops (and they can always flop). Second, and related to the first, production can be scaleable without large swings in per-product costs or long turn-around times.

The important thing about a Frankentype, at whatever stage you can use one, is that it can reduce both your risk and ultimate costs, especially in that critical period before you need to decide to go forward with the project or if it’s time to move on to the next innovation.

Are You Inoculated Against the New "Bird Flu"?

November 28th, 2008

It’s been a little while since my last blog, but I think I have a good excuse. For those of you who didn’t hear, I was at a meeting in Pittsburgh in late September, which for me is the start of a very busy time of year with a lot of important annual meetings, including our Inventors Conference, which was then just around the corner. So there I was, getting ready to leave my hotel room and go help set up for an exhibit booth, when something just “popped” in my back, causing severe pain and losing the use of my foot. By the time I got home from the conference, realizing that there was something seriously wrong, I went to the doctor and the next thing I knew I was being wheeled into an operating room (the last time for me was getting my tonsils out at 6) for spinal surgery. Foregone was all my meetings, plans and schedule for the next several months, and of course not making the Inventors Conference that I had worked on and was so looking forward to. From what I’ve been told, I missed the best conference we’ve turned out yet.

Being stranded flat on my back, from a hotel room in Pittsburgh and later, weeks after surgery at home, I was witness to a slow, blow-by-blow, talking head marathon starting with Hurricane Ike and ending with the economic meltdown on Wall Street, all via the wonders of 24-hour news television. This was not the uplifting kind of programming one would want to watch during a long recovery after major surgery.

Not to belittle what’s happening in the economy. I heard someone say it best recently: we’ve all witnessed the largest bankruptcy in history, the stock market dropping like a rock, and all the talking heads on TV freaking out like it’s the end of the world. But in spite of all the bad news, I’m here to say don’t freak out, it really isn’t the end of the world. Take a chill pill. The worst thing an inventor, entrepreneur, or anyone else for that matter can do in any time of crisis is let the winds of panic carry them off. Don’t succumb to the worst kind of bird flu of all: The Chicken Little Virus.

Things are changing, and many of them are not pleasant. Many products and the businesses that sell them will definitely suffer. Many, but not all; and don’t think for a minute that there aren’t many products and companies that are and will do very well in a down economy. This is not the time for us, as inventors and entrepreneurs, to tuck our tail between our legs and go limping home. While much of the rest of the world is hitting the panic button, this is our call to action.

So, how do you protect yourself from the Chicken Little Virus? First, know that this can be an opportunity. People are looking for solutions to new problems that are facing them, and we just so happen to be in the problem-solving business! Now this may mean that the project you are currently working on may have changed from a hot commodity to a cold one. This simply means the market has changed. A while back I started collecting an “Idea Bin”, and every time I thought of a new one, I’d put it there. It may be time to start looking through our “Idea Bins” for that one that will now fit our current economic climate. Remember, opportunities don’t just exist in a bad economy, they abound! We just have to find out what they are and adapt, shifting our focus and energy on what works in a changed environment.

Can You Believe It?

August 26th, 2008

The Inventors Conference is Now Only 6 Weeks Away!

 

You can always start to feel it around this time of year. While summer is still upon us, our eye catches just a few glimpses here and there that hints of a change of seasons: a few fallen leaves where there was none before, school buses rolling down the road as school starts, and every so often a break from the “dog days” heat that seems to have just the slightest touch of cool in the air. It’s these hints for me to know that what I term as my “hectic time of year” is not far around the corner, and in many ways already gearing up. For me this is a time of trade shows, meetings, and of course our annual Inventors Conference, which we have actually been planning and working on since the spring.

Believe it or not, Kentucky’s 4th annual Inventors Conference is now only 6 weeks away, and we’re already starting to get pretty excited around here as we see things start to take shape for the conference. This year, along with our speakers and presenters, we’re working with some members of the Lexington Venture Club and other business leaders to do an “Elevator Pitch” segment. Selected inventor applicants will have the opportunity to give a 3 minute presentation before a panel of experts in the business and venture capital arenas. The panel will then have 2 minutes to give recommendations and coaching. The Lexington Small Business Development Center is also offering help and coaching for preparation prior to the conference. One or more presenters may even have the chance to go on to a Lexington Venture Club meeting and present. Time is short and space is limited, so if you’re interested in becoming involved, go to the news page (http://ckic.org/news.html) and download the application forms.

In addition to the Elevator Pitch, the Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) of the Kentucky Department of Education is getting involved this year. Some of the top STLP entrepreneurial projects from the 2008 State Championship will be joining our exhibits, as well as inventor and business-friendly service provider companies.

Of course, as we try and achieve new heights at this year’s conference, we need people who are willing to help us pull all of this off. We still need volunteers to help in various areas of the conference. If you are planning to be an exhibitor or even would like to present in the Elevator Pitch, remember that time and space are limited so send us your applications ASAP. And thanks in advance for helping us to make this another great conference!

Juggling and the Business of Inventing

July 29th, 2008  

For some time now, I have been in the search for the perfect (for me) activity/exercise: something that’s quick, fun, lightweight and travels well. After a search of several different activities, including going as far as asking for advice from one of our members who is a retired recreational therapist, I finally settled on something that so far seems to stick: juggling. This is certainly something that is not for everybody and probably even something that sounds kind of odd to most people, but hey, we inventors do seem to run upstream with most everything. So far I’m just getting the hang of the beginners level of juggling scarves (plus it’s more aerobic than balls), but while I am still learning, and might not ever be good enough to be seen juggling in public, in the process of learning this new pastime I found myself drawing some comparisons to this time-honored art and the worlds of inventing and business. Here are some comparisons I observed:

Juggling is Not About Catching, It is About Throwing:
I noticed early on that if you want to be successful, you have to concentrate more on the throwing than the catching. Watch a juggler and notice how they always seem to be looking up, not down. The same can be said for the world of inventing. You have to be proactive, concentrating on your throw, on what you’re doing or going to do, rather than focusing on trying to catch that bad throw. Wild throws equals wild catches, and subsequent drops. So keep your eyes on where you’re throwing, not where you’re catching. You are catching enough bad things that happen by themselves in the invention-to-market process without adding the results of unfocused actions you could make on your own.

You’re Going to Drop Some Balls
It’s going to happen. And it’s going to happen more in the beginning, when you’re just trying to get the hang of things. This is also the time when you are the most vulnerable to get discouraged and quit. OK, so you dropped one, or two, or a hundred and three. After a while, you’ll find your rhythm. Until then, don’t give up. Rome wasn’t built in a day – if needed, take baby steps until you get the hang of it. I learned recently that the famous vacuum inventor James Dyson had over 1,000 prototypes to fail before he perfected what is now his famously successful invention with over $1 Billion in sales worldwide.

Juggling is a Learned Skill
And so is the business of inventing. You’ll basically learn from three areas:
1. You’ll learn from experts. Learn all you can from those that have gone before you.
2. You’ll learn by practice. The more you practice, the better you get a catching those “stray balls”.
3. You’ll learn from mistakes. You can turn mistakes from reasons to quit to valuable information on how to move forward.

Don’t Make Things More Difficult Than They Have To Be
When learning to juggle, one of the first things they tell you is to practice in front of a chair or a bed. Why? Because they know that in the beginning, you’re going to drop a lot of balls. Use all the tools at your disposal. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help when you need it. There are more tools out there now for the independent inventor and entrepreneur than has ever been available before, so take advantage of every possible tool that will give you all the edge that you can take hold of.

Juggling is About Risk
Yes, you can drop a ball. Remember what you’re risking: your money, time, talent, your ideas, your invention itself. It’s safer if you don’t throw anything into the air, but then you wouldn’t be doing anything at all. You want to be wise and very aware as to what you are risking and what the risks are. Anyone telling you the truth will tell you that inventing is a high-risk venture. Many inventors are willing to take these risks, but the wise ones know what they are getting into and take calculated risks based on their individual situation. If you’re not successful, you could have made more money delivering pizzas. For me, however, this is a lot more rewarding than saying, “That will be $11.95” on a number of levels.

Be Prepared to Sweat
It always looks so easy when you see the performer (or successful inventor) up there from the comfort of the spectator seats. Once you’re throwing, catching, and trying to keep rhythm all at the same time, however, you find out quickly it’s a lot of hard work. I think probably the most fun I have with inventing is that “light bulb” eureka moment, when you are creating that great idea in your head. But that’s just the 1% inspiration, compared to the 99% perspiration that Edison spoke of. And you have to really put your whole body into it; half-hearted throws just don’t work very well. But if you can practice, pace yourself when you tire, and move from that “I don’t fell like doing this today” phase to the “I feel like I can’t stop” phase, you will have moved closer to the guy you saw from your spectator seat.

Are You Thinking Like a Tapper or a Listener?

June 25th, 2008

(Is the Message of Your Invention Really Getting Across to Others?)

Charles “Tremendous” Jones once said that you will basically be the same person 5 years from now that you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet. So in an effort to try and broaden my own horizon, given a lot of extended time traveling lately, I try to listen to a lot of audio books. Many have been pretty good reads lately, but one in particular may very well become my pick for “best book I’ve read all year”. This book is called “Made to Stick”, written by two brothers, Chip and Dan Heath. The book’s introduction starts out with a common urban legend that has been circulating around the internet for years, one that you’d most likely recognize from your own spam inbox. After relaying the story, the authors ask you to contrast the story with a passage drawn from a paper distributed by a non-profit organization. It starts out: “Comprehensive community building naturally lends itself to a return-on-investment rationale that can be modeled, drawing on existing practice..". They then ask you to imagine that you closed the book right then and took and hourlong break, followed by calling a friend and trying to retell that passage without rereading it. Good luck. The point they were trying to make here is that some messages are naturally “sticky”, while others are not. So how do you design your idea so it sticks? While I can’t go into all the details of the book, in short the book lays out six principles to make an idea sticky:

1. Simplicity
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotions
6. Stories

While I do recommend reading the whole book, one particular passage definitely bears illumination and I think helps to give perspective on why we as inventors many times have a very difficult time getting the true idea of our invention across to others.

Tappers and Listeners:
In 1990, Elizabeth Newton earned a Ph.D. in psychology at Stanford by studying a simple game where she assigned people to one of two roles: “tappers” or “listeners”. Tappers received a list of 25 well-known songs such as “Happy Birthday” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Each tapper was asked to pick a song and tap out the rhythm to a listener by knocking or tapping on the table. The listener’s job was to guess the song, based on the rhythm being tapped. Over the course of the experiment , listeners only guessed 2.5% of the songs, or 3 out of 120. But here’s the most interesting point to the experiment. Before the listeners guessed the name of the song, the tappers were asked to predict the odds that the listeners would guess correctly. They predicted the odds at 50%.

I think this is noteworthy. You see, when the tapper taps, he or she is hearing the song in their head. Go ahead and try it for yourself. It’s impossible to avoid hearing it in your head. Meanwhile, the listeners can’t hear that tune in your head, only a bizarre kind of Morse Code. In the experiment, tappers were flabbergasted at how hard it was for the listeners to try and pick up the tune. The tapper’s expressions were priceless: “Isn’t the song obvious? How could you be so stupid?”

It’s hard to be a tapper. The problem with tappers is that they have been given knowledge (the song title) that makes it impossible for them to imagine what it’s like to not posses that knowledge. The brothers Heath call this “the curse of knowledge”, and I think it is core to the problem many inventors have when trying to get the idea of their message across to others. Once we know something, we find it extremely hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily think like the listeners. When an inventor shares their idea with others, telling all the technical features in what seems to us as wonderfully explicit detail, there is a tune playing in our head that the product developer, marketer or potential buyer or licensee can’t hear. And trying to reverse the process is like trying to un-ring a bell. Once you know something, you can’t un-know it. This leaves you with 2 options:

Don’t learn anything. (The unfortunate choice of many, but that’s another story)

Transform the telling of your idea to make it an idea that sticks.

This is not a super-easy task, as I am finding out as I try to apply the principles laid out in Made to Stick to my own ideas and projects. But I’m finding out it is not super-hard, either. You don’t have to be a rocket-scientist (although no doubt in this business of inventing some really are), but you do have to apply yourself. Someone once said that gravity can be a curse or a blessing, depending if you can make it work for you or not. I say take the “curse” of knowledge one step further, learn the principles of making your message sticky so that both the listeners and the tappers can hear that song in your head. Your song. The song of your invention!

Football, Orange Groves and the Business of Inventing

April 28th, 2008 
My Dad used to tell me this story of when he played football at a high school in a small eastern Kentucky town in the 1950's. But first some background:

My Dad had become something of a football legend in his hometown. Once returning for a reunion decades later, one elderly gentleman told him that the most exciting football he had ever watched, professional, college and otherwise, was when he watched my Dad on the field in high school. My Dad had made Kentucky All-Star, and had earned nicknames such as "greased lightning". But such was not always so.

When he first made the team, he spent most of his first season on the bench. The coach, as well as many other observers, thought he was just didn't have the natural build and bulk to be competitive on the field. "Those other boys will break your legs", was the kind of jaunts he would hear. However, during the summer months, he would implement a plan that would change things dramatically. You see my Grandfather owned orange groves down in Florida, and would take the family down there each summer, tending to the groves. During those summers in a 1950's Florida, you would have found my Dad in those orange groves, and it would have been a peculiar sight. What he would do is run directly at an orange tree, then just before making contact he would cut and change direction, moving to the left or the right of the tree. He practiced this over and over and over again, until he was able to develop the skill of actually accelerating on the cut. In telling me this story, he said that he got to the point where he could feel the edges of the leaves on the trees brushing the sides of his arms on the cut. The next fall arrived, and with it the start of football season. The day finally arrived that my Dad was put onto the field and subsequently intercepted a pass, taking the ball and heading toward the goal posts. What happened next became football history for that high school. He would run directly at the opposing team players, boys of mammoth stature and frame compared to my Dad, all meaning to mow him down in short order. To their utter shock and surprise he would come right at them, then would cut away, accelerating on the cut. Just as in the orange groves, he could feel the edges of their fingers brushing his arms as they reached out for him. He did this again and again, rushing his way to the goal and making a winning touchdown.

He did not possess the size and strength of those he was going toe-to-toe with. So what was it gave him the ability to win over those literally crushing odds? First, he was creative. Spending those summers in Florida, he could have just worried about the next season, or become despondent and just quit. He could have tried to play by the same "rules" as everyone else, done all the same things as his opponents (and teammates), tried to compete as is and would have most likely failed. Instead he got to thinking about what he had or could do that they did not. What he came up with was something no one else was doing, something that he could do, and something that would even the playing field. The other thing he did was practice. He was not born with this talent.  If he had only thought about doing it, he would have failed.  If he had only practiced when he felt like it, or not had practiced enough, he would have also failed.  But he did practice, again and again and then again.  He practiced until he could feel the edges of the leaves just barely brushing the edges of his upper arms knowing, and correctly so, that the same would be true with the enormous linebackers coming at him out on the field. 

As inventors, I think we can learn a lesson from this story of a young high school football player all those years ago.  As independent inventors, we sometimes face crushing odds in the marketplace.  Competitors, like those mammoth linebackers, are coming at us, and they are a lot bigger than we are.  We don’t have their resources.  We don’t have a lot of things that they have.  But we can get creative.  We can think as creatively (and many times even more so) than those big guys.  And once we figure out how to even that playing field and give ourselves that needed edge over the competition, we need to practice. Even if we are to farm this work out to another, we need to be so intimately familiar with it that we can communicate, implement and work with others in a way that fosters a successful venture, not to “manage by abdication”, which generally leads to certain failure.  If there is a skill we’re lacking in any of the steps necessary to become a successful inventor, we need to find out what that is, how to do it and then practice it over and over and over and over again. And then we need to practice some more.  This practice can be empowering.  Once you become savvy or skilled at a new core competency, you own it.  You also no longer fear it.  Uncertainty, fear and confusion are rendered null and void.  Those big boys coming at you can’t break your legs if they reach out and can only brush your upper arms with the edges of their fingers.  And you can’t fear them if you know that. 

So get creative and practice!  And practice until you can feel the edges of those leaves brushing the sides of your arms. 

My Dad once told me that he could take all that he gained by playing football, add a dollar and it would buy him a cup of coffee.  I beg to differ.