New Strategy - Sustainability
Copyright Jack Mixner. 714 449 1040. www.mixnerstrategy.com
Innovation comes from all sorts of places. A carpet manufacturer realized that making synthetic carpeting was tremendously wasteful in both raw materials and ultimate scrap. A tape manufacturer realized that normal tapes were just as wasteful for very similar reasons. What to do?
Benyus had worked for years as a biologist looking at the way biological systems worked. For instance, she realized that geckos hang from the ceiling from microscopic hairs on the soles of their feet. The forest floor is made up of random leaves dropped helter skelter. Pick up a leaf and the forest floor looks basically the same. Put the leaf back down somewhere else and the same is true.
Benyus ( Bernstein, page 1) convinced the carpet manufacturer to subtitute gecko adhesives for the normally very messy and wasteful adhesives used to lay carpeting. Used to be, even with carpet squares, when you wanted repair a tear or an ugly spill, you basically had to replace the whole carpet. Not anymore. The manufacturer made every square subtly different from its neighbor. Replace one, and you couldn't tell.
The result? Less waste. Cheaper processes. Everyone wins.
Strategic Implication
Look to new sources for solutions to old problems. It's more than a gap analysis. Substitute new ideas for old ones.
References
Bernstein, Amy. Janine Benyus: The Thought Leader Interview. strategy+business. November 2006.