Page 91 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

A 1.11111 products company seeking a way of planting seeds

at e\, n the same distance apart used a machinegun belt as

an analogy. The firm created a biodegradeable tape studded
w ith equally spaced seeds that could be laid in a furrow. 2'

When DuPont researchers were trying to develop a
fire-resistant Nomex fiber that could be dyed without requir-
ing special procedures, they were stumped because the fiber's
tight structure made it impossible for dye to adhere to it.
Then one of the researchers asked how miners could go into
coal mines. The answer was that props keep the mine from
collapsing. Applying this analogy, he embedded a large or-
ganic molecule in the fiber during manufacturing. This mol-
ecule dug a hole and propped it open so that dye could be
applied. One result of this innovation is the widespread use
of flame-resistant Nomex in aircraft interiors. 22

Some direct analogies occur by chance and are followed up
by creative problem solvers. At Ford Motor Company, for
example, design engineers had been working unsuccessfully
for months on a bucket seat that would adjust to the con-
tours of the human body. Bill Camplisson, then director of
marketing plans and programs for Ford Europe, was part of
the design team. Late one night he leaned back in his seat,
remembering a time he had been at the beach as a child.
Someone had stepped on his beach ball and crushed it. He
had begun crying and his father had come to his aid and
punched out the sides of the ball. Suddenly Camplisson re-
alized the analogy between the rubber ball and the bucket
seat. The designers dropped their mechanical designs and
began experimenting with new materials. Shortly thereaf-
ter they had the seat they were looking for.23