Many people think industry change is difficult, or even unattainable. But maybe all you really need is a little nuclear fusion and passion for change.
In 2008 at the age of 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to produce nuclear fusion...in his garage. Driven by the question of, “What if…” he has continued to look at innovative ways other industries could benefit from his discoveries. In the medical field he is aiming towards finding ways to beat cancer and he has already advised the U.S. government on counter-terrorism initiatives. Taylor’s boundaryless curiosity and enthusiasm reminds us of another time in history when large companies acted in this manner.
The Industrial Revolution was an impactful time of change moving people from a lifestyle predominantly based around agriculture, to a more urban way of living. The creative minds that drove the revolution from the mid-18th and 19th centuries were innovative thinkers and inventors, but more importantly, they had a passion for making things better.
Charles Goodyear is credited with the vulcanization process used in the Pneumatic Tire, but a veterinarian named John Dunlop* is recognized for witnessing a tire issue on his son’s tricycle and eventually creating the bicycle tire known the world around. His drive to create a better product eventually grew to the Dunlop Rubber Company which also began producing automobile tires.
During an era plagued by sailors suffering from malnutrition while at sea, a French chef named Nicolas Appert went about solving the food storage problem. In the early 1800s he discovered a way to use boiling techniques to create a vacuum-tight seal which is now known as food canning.
Sometimes the solution for a problem has to come out of a space that has nothing to do with your industry. Sometimes it’s just revamping a product that already exists. Whatever the solution may be, disruption and progress almost always come from looking differently at an obstacle. Change is something that must occur to keep things relevant. And like those early inventors and present day techies, we believe in pushing the boundaries of innovation to get there.
“We cannot solve problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein
We founded Momentum Innovation Group on the belief that innovation can happen any time, in any industry. We love disrupting the norm. And we love helping people become the forerunners in their industries. Industry transformation and change can only begin to happen when people recognize there is a problem to solve.
We'd love to hear about the challenges in your industry and talk to you about ways your company can become a leader in innovation. Email us at info@miginnovation.com.
Watch the TED Talk on Taylor Wilson:
*Robert William Thomson is actually credited with the first pneumatic rubber tire but it never was commercialized.