Recruit shepherd boys

(children's innovation)

In America, a 6-year-old girl became a millionaire. She entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest millionaire and the youngest businessman. Maria was born in a poor Indian family in El Salvador. When she was 6 years old, one day she and her father went to the home of Donald spector, a famous toy dealer, to clean the windows, and happened to meet spector with a toy in his hand. Sparket asked her, "Do you like these toys?" She replied, "I don't like any of these toys in your hand." Then I counted the shortcomings of these toys one by one. Spector thought this was a different little girl, so she brought her into the house, put all kinds of toys in front of her and asked her for advice.

Maria's opinion is very accurate and to the point. Sparket is very happy to hire her as the company's design consultant and sign a long-term contract. When talking about why 6-year-old Maria was hired as the consultant of the company, Specter said: "All toy designers have a common problem, that is, we have already grown up, lost the ability of direct response, outdated vision and lack of passion." Since then, the toys identified by Little Maria have brought huge profits to the company.

turn waste into treasure

(Innovation needs reverse thinking)

At the beginning of 2002, a cargo ship full of scrap steel from the World Trade Center in the United States arrived in Shanghai, and the buyer was Shanghai Baosteel Group. Baosteel bought 50,000 tons of scrap steel at a low price of less than $ 120 per ton. The staff said that the steel quality of the World Trade Center is much higher than that of ordinary scrap steel. It is reported that Baosteel will not only recycle most of the world trade scrap as planned, but also prepare to keep some as souvenirs.

It is understood that the twin towers of the World Trade Center that collapsed in the "911"incident produced a large amount of scrap steel, with an estimated total of 400,000 tons. There is a few feet thick steel skeleton in the wreckage of the building, and there are a lot of charred steel office furniture such as desks and filing cabinets inside the building. A steel company in new york, USA, has started to sell these scrap steel to the whole world.

Shanghai Baosteel Group is the only enterprise in China that participated in the acquisition of scrap steel of World Trade Center, and it is also the earliest purchaser in the world. Mr. Xu of Baosteel Import Scrap Group told reporters that "the steel used in the World Trade Center is fine steel, which is the best in the world in the 1970s". Considering the special historical value and commemorative significance of the World Trade Center scrap steel, Baosteel's leaders have considered that in addition to steelmaking with scrap steel, some scrap steel can also be made into handicrafts or souvenirs, such as making a model of the World Trade Center or a small souvenir.

Lessons from high-end red wine

(cautious innovation)

A prey was caught, but the lion hasn't eaten it yet. If the fox wants to eat, he has to consider: why doesn't the lion eat? Is it because the lion is not hungry and doesn't like to eat, the prey is too small to eat, or it is simply poisonous to eat? If the lion thinks the prey is too small to eat, he can go up and have a full meal, otherwise the consequence can only be poisoned or eaten by the lion.

There is a wine production enterprise in Xinjiang, and the owner of this enterprise also knows that his strength is far from being able to compete with industry giants such as Changyu, Dynasty and Great Wall. However, through market research, they found that high-priced red wine was not involved in these industry giants, and he was secretly pleased. Isn't this the breakthrough point for everyone? After a period of intensive preparations, we focused on launching high-priced red wine, but after entering the market, the turnover soon became ineffective and the enterprise was in trouble.

Later, after investigation, it was found that the red wine at this price was completely dominated by foreign wine. Although these foreign wines are not well-known in China, the idea that foreign wines are superior to national wines is deeply rooted. High-end and high-priced red wine is completely monopolized by foreign wine, and even domestic wine industry giants dare not rashly intervene. However, this enterprise thought it was an industry opportunity, so it rushed in and ate poisonous prey that lions dared not eat.

Chen Dongsheng's Concept of Innovation

(Innovation does not refuse imitation)

As the leader of the youngest national life insurance company in China, Chen Dongsheng, the current chairman and CEO of Taikang Life Insurance Co., Ltd., has his own understanding of innovation: innovation means taking the lead in imitation.

Chen Dongsheng said: "Many people flaunt that breaking the law and acting according to their own will is innovation, and the result is breaking their heads. There are too many such cases. So I think it's better to find the best gourd painting gourd ladle honestly. "

Guardian, who holds a doctorate in economics from Wuhan University, has successfully transformed from a scholar to a businessman despite three years of pioneering work. But when he 1996 stood at the gate of the insurance industry, Chen Dongsheng was just a student without any practical experience. Chen Dongsheng has found a shortcut to copy the advanced practices accumulated by foreign insurance giants for hundreds of years.

In a few years, Chen Dongsheng visited 2 1 world-class multinational insurance financial groups. From the company structure, marketing model, senior management personnel to the company's decoration style and service facilities, Chen Dongsheng brought them back from abroad.

Taking the lead in imitation made Taikang stand at a high starting point and Chen Dongsheng stand at a high point in China insurance industry.

The secret of Sony's success

(Enterprise innovation needs to constantly develop new products)

Being regarded as the motto of the company, "Sony: research makes it different" is the biggest mystery of Sony's success. Since the late 1940s, the company has put forward the concept of "doing what others have never done and developing new products acceptable to the whole world". In our work, we should study new situations, develop new technologies, explore new fields, occupy new markets and stay ahead.

One day, Masaru Ibuka saw an American-made tape recorder with beautiful sound quality in the office of the Domestic Press and Education Department of Japan Broadcasting Association. This little-known thing in Japan at that time made Masaru Ibuka immediately realize its huge market potential. He bought its production patent for free. After many experiments, I finally produced my own tape recorder and achieved great success after several innovations.

1954 1 month, Sony bought a patent for transistor production. Because they realized that the wave of upgrading in the field of electronic technology was coming, they produced the world's first pocket transistor radio. Innovation made them two years ahead of their domestic counterparts.

Sony is most willing to use doers who have different experiences and like to be unconventional. In such an environment, Sony people are particularly willing to undertake challenging work. Everyone is active and enterprising, striving for the first place, and the whole enterprise is always full of vitality and vitality.

The story of "Eagle Money" turning over

(Innovation is the source of enterprise vitality)

Guangzhou Yingqian Enterprise Group Co., Ltd. is a large-scale food processing enterprise with a history of more than 40 years, which integrates production, management and scientific research, and has the right to import and export. After entering the 1990s, "Eagle Money" gradually lost its market vitality: R&D funds were gone, new products could not be developed, and even if developed, it could not form a production scale; Lack of funds to open up the market, watching the market being eaten by others ... On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2000, the company lost money for the seventh consecutive year, and even employees had to worry about holiday money.

In order to survive, "Eagle Money" vigorously develops new products while drastically reforming management methods. They heard that a certain group in China and Hongkong had a "slimming tea" product which was very popular in overseas markets, so they actively discussed cooperation with it. In just one month, the group completed the technical research on the weight-loss formula submitted by Hong Kong, and introduced a pure natural Chinese medicine health drink named "Shenxiushuang" to the market.

It is also "buy one get one free"

(Innovation is not an "absurd idea")

When Harry was fifteen or sixteen years old, he worked as a child laborer in a circus and was responsible for selling snacks in the circus. But not many people watch it every time, and even fewer people buy things to eat, especially drinks, and few people care.

One day, an idea came to Harry's mind: give everyone who bought tickets a bag of peanuts to attract the audience. But the boss doesn't agree with this "absurd idea". Ha used his meager salary as a guarantee, begged the boss to let him try, and promised to deduct it from his salary if he lost money, and only take half if he earned it. Then, the voice of the volunteer propagandist sounded outside the circus venue in the future: "Come to the circus, buy a ticket and send a pack of delicious peanuts!" " "In harry's constant shouting, the audience several times more than usual.

After the audience entered, little Harry began to sell drinks such as lemon ice. Most viewers will buy a cup when they feel thirsty after eating peanuts. After a circus, the turnover has increased ten times.

The first person to eat crab

Innovation requires great courage.

Innovation is the infinite scenery on the steep mountain peak. To climb the peak of innovation, we must first have infinite courage. Mr. Lu Xun once praised the first person who ate crabs. Because crabs are ugly and fierce, let alone eating them. I am afraid to avoid them when I see them. Innovation also needs this spirit of being the first in the world.

/kloc-in the 0/7th century, a young man in western Europe also became the "first person to eat crabs". Sailors at that time brought American tomatoes to England. British people who have never seen this red blood-like fruit stay away from tomatoes. They thought tomatoes were highly toxic, so they were nicknamed "Wolf Peach". For decades, no one dared to take a bite. Later, a brave young man ventured to taste one and found it delicious. Therefore, we have a place for tomatoes at the dinner table today.

It takes a lot of courage to eat crabs or tomatoes. In fact, the beginning of all innovation is an adventure without knowing the result. However, if you don't innovate, you will never know what the result is.

Qi Baishi changed his painting method in his later years.

(Innovation needs the courage to break through oneself)

/kloc-in 0/90, Qi Baishi, who is nearly 60 years old, has achieved perfection in art, but he is not satisfied with the status quo. He hopes to strive for perfection, pursue Excellence and show new ideas.

One day, Chen Shiceng, a master painter, came home. Mr. Qi took out the painting and asked the master to correct me. Chen Shiceng praised Qi Baishi for his superb skills; At the same time, it also points out some shortcomings, hoping that Qi Baishi can find another way and form his own style on this basis. From then on, Qi Baishi closed the door to thank guests, studied hard and deliberately sought novelty. After ten years of hard exploration, he finally walked out of a new art road that broke through himself and surpassed his predecessors!

At this time, Qi Baishi got rid of the rough and complicated elements in folk art, combined with the concise and meaningful pen and ink of literati painting, creatively used seal cutting and stone pen to paint, and finally formed his own characteristics of both form and spirit and a strong and fresh artistic style, and created his own "red flower and ink leaf" school in China painting circle, reaching a higher and brand-new artistic realm.

Unconventional advertisement

(Innovation needs to change the way of thinking)

To advertise cosmetics, according to the "conventional thinking", you should ask the jade girl to be a model; But a cosmetics factory in Nanjing invited a wrinkled old lady to try it on the spot, and then praised the products of the factory. As a result, buyers flocked. According to common sense, it should be said that "Wang Po sells melons and boasts herself", but a watch factory insists on saying that it is bitter and solemnly declares to consumers that "our watches are not allowed, and 24 hours are 24 seconds slow. Please think twice before buying. " The "gods" expressed their sincerity and put on watches that were "24 seconds slow".

Everything in the world seems to have a routine, but what if we break it? You might as well open your mind and often have a bright future.

Morgan is the richest man in America, and he was still poor when he took his wife to America when he was young. To make a living, he opened a grocery store to sell eggs. When Morgan sells eggs, he finds that customers often complain that the eggs he sells are small. After a period of observation and summary, he asked his wife to sell eggs. As a result, customers didn't think the eggs were too small. The reason is that Morgan's hand is thick and big, and both of them are an egg, which is placed on the slender hand of a woman and the stout hand of a man. In the buyer's view, this egg is not the same egg. Sell eggs in the hands of slim women. When "thick" and "thin" are changed, customers will be crowded and financial resources will roll in.

Be a bricklayer or train a bricklayer?

(Innovation is the only way to survive)

After the second world war, the construction industry in the United States developed greatly, and the price of masons was also rising. Many newspapers have advertised for "bricklayers", which is a godsend for the unemployed.

Poor Mike came to Chicago from Minneapolis to make a living. After seeing the advertisement, he really regretted why he didn't learn from the bricklayer first, otherwise he wouldn't be running around looking for a job.

A friend dragged him to make up for what he had done, and he went to work as a bricklayer. Although the salary is similar, it is better than unemployment.

Mike doesn't think so. After he calmed down, a unique idea came out: "Since bricklayers are recruited everywhere, where do bricklayers come from?" Why don't I hold a training class to provide technicians for the landlord? "

Thought of here, Mike couldn't help heart. He doesn't know anything about brick technology. How does he train others? However, Mike is not a conformist after all. Through friends, he learned about a skilled bricklayer with many apprentices and persuaded him to start a training class with him.

Soon, the "Mike bricklayer's Accelerated Training Center" was listed, and many workers who wanted to be bricklayers but were not qualified flocked to it. They are willing to pay a high price for technical training. Later, Mike joined hands with the construction industry to make his "center" not only have the function of training, but also help students arrange employment. Mike, who doesn't know brick and tile technology, made a fortune in the brick and tile industry.

No one can do everything, so it is possible to meet resistance in a changeable life. People who are flexible in thinking, winding and secluded, and do not understand brick and tile technology can make big money in the brick and tile industry, benefiting from the energy of creative thinking.

raise oneself

(Innovation requires perseverance and persistence to succeed)

A leather merchant likes fishing. The place where he often goes is the Newfoundland fishing ground. One winter morning, the fur trader came to this fishing ground again. Maybe it's because it snowed heavily the night before. It was very cold that day, and the whistling wind blew on my face like a knife. The cobbler made great efforts to cut a hole in the frozen sea and then began to fish. He saw a very interesting phenomenon: the fish caught on the ice quickly froze hard, and as long as the ice did not melt, the fish would not taste bad after three to five days. Can food be kept fresh after freezing? The cobbler asked himself this question. He started the experiment. After many explorations, he found that not only fish can keep fresh under freezing conditions, but also other foods, such as beef and vegetables. He decided to make a machine that can quickly freeze food. The road to groping is difficult. In the process of developing the quick freezing machine, fur traders suffered a lot. But he never gets discouraged. Through repeated experiments and summing up experience, the fur merchant finally succeeded. He applied for a patent from the National Patent Office and sold the technology to General Food Company of the United States at a sky-high price of $3 million. He is the inventor of the first generation refrigerator in the world-American Baka.

Two calligraphers

(Innovation is the life of art)

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there were two famous calligraphers-Liu Shi 'an and Weng Fanggang. Weng Fanggang imitates the ancients seriously and pays attention to every painting that resembles the previous generation. For example, this horizontal line should belong to Dongpo, Su Like, and this one should be like Li Taibai. Liu Shi 'an not only practiced hard, but also demanded that every painting be different from the ancients and pay attention to nature. One day, these two calligraphers with different styles met. Weng Fanggang sarcastically said to Liu Shi 'an, "Excuse me, dear friend, which sentence of yours belongs to the ancients?" Liu Shi 'an was not angry. On the contrary, he smiled and asked, "By the way, dear friend, which one of your words is your own?" Weng Fanggang was suddenly tongue-tied.

It is understandable to attach importance to our predecessors and inherit their achievements. However, any knowledge and skills will always develop forward, and sticking to the rules and not daring to cross the line will only make this knowledge lose its vitality until it dies.

Mr. Qi Baishi said: "Those who learn from me are born like me." If you can't get out of the framework of your predecessors, naturally you won't have your own world.

Guiguzi's innovative thinking

(Don't stick to common sense when innovating)

According to legend, Guiguzi, the teacher of Sun Bin, a famous strategist in ancient China, is very good at cultivating students' innovative thinking in teaching. Its method is unique. One day, Guiguzi gave each of Sun Bin and Pang Juan an axe and asked them to go up the mountain to cut firewood, demanding that "firewood is smokeless and has more than a hundred loads", and the deadline was 10 day. Without thinking, Pang Juan cuts firewood every day. After careful consideration, Sun Bin chose some elms to put in a cave with a big belly and a small door, burned them into charcoal, and then carried the charred elms back to Guigu Cave with a pole made of cypress branches. It means that one hundred (cypress) trees bear more fruit than (elm). 10 days later, Guiguzi lit Pang Juan's firewood in the cave for the first time. Although the fire is very strong, the smoke is rolling. Then Guiguzi lit the charcoal in Sun Bin, which was vigorous and smokeless. This is exactly what Guiguzi expected.

Sure enough, after Sun Bin and Pang Juan got off the bus and went to school, Sun Bin played brilliantly and didn't stick to common sense. Pang Juan is a bit inferior.

Rotating caterpillar

French scientist Farber once did a famous "caterpillar" experiment.

Faber put some caterpillars end to end on the edge of a flowerpot in a circle, and scattered some caterpillars' favorite pine needles less than15cm around the flowerpot. The caterpillars began to walk around the flowerpot one by one. An hour passed and a day passed, and the caterpillar kept walking. In this way, the caterpillar walked for seven days and nights, and was finally exhausted by hunger and fatigue.

After the experiment, Faber wrote this sentence in his notes: among so many caterpillars, as long as one is slightly different, it will immediately avoid the fate of death.

Caterpillar's behavior is a kind of conformity. American sociologist Solomon Ashe believes that 33% of human mistakes come from "conformity". Conformity is the enemy of innovation, and to innovate, we must break the herd mentality. Sometimes, innovation can survive.

The gold mine is just around the corner

Once, a radio station invited a business wizard as a guest host. People are eager to hear him talk about his success. Unexpectedly, he just smiled and said, "Let's take the exam when we debut."

"A gold mine was discovered somewhere, and people flocked to it. However, a big river blocked the only way. It is you. What would you do? " People are talking noisily, some say to take a detour, and some say to swim over. However, the business wizard just smiled and said nothing. After a long time, he said, "Why do you have to go for gold? Why can't you buy a boat to do shipping business? " People were startled. He went on to say, "In that case, even if the ferry passengers are slaughtered to the point of only a pair of shorts, they will be willing, because there is a gold mine ahead!" " People came to look for gold, but they didn't expect the gold mine to be in sight. In fact, everything is the same. As long as you change your thinking a little and innovate, wealth will roll in.

Cut the apple from another angle.

Zi proudly told his father that when he cut the apple, he found a five-pointed star in it. The puzzled father thought, why has he never seen the five-pointed star in the apple? When the son showed the peeled apple to his father, his father was surprised: I didn't expect the apple to be peeled horizontally.

Generally, the apple is cut with the fruit handle as the starting point, and the knife is cut vertically, and it is divided into two. If you put it across the table and cut it off, you will find a clear five-pointed star pattern in the apple. This is amazing. After eating apples for so many years, I have never found that apples have a five-pointed star pattern. Just by changing a cutting method, I discovered a little-known secret.

The source of innovation is actually to break through the self and conventional thinking mode, not only in life, but also in management.

Notices in botanical gardens

There is a famous botanical garden in America, which is full of all kinds of rare flowers. A large number of tourists come to watch it every day, but sometimes there are fewer flowers. To this end, the manager put up a sign in front of the botanical garden: "Anyone who reports stealing flowers will be rewarded with $200". Since then, no flowers have been lost in the botanical garden.

A curious tourist asked the manager of the botanical garden why he didn't write "Whoever steals flowers will be fined $200". The manager replied, in that case, we can only rely on a limited number of people to see the management; In this way, all tourists can be mobilized to participate in our management. People with impure motives will have a fear of "looking around" and flowers will naturally be less likely to be lost. This practice of "changing punishment into reward" and "changing everyone's participation in management for everyone" is really wonderful.

Application and innovation

Innovation is not everything.

We advocate innovation and call for innovative spirit. But we should also see that innovation is not everything, and not everything is suitable for innovation.

Coca-Cola, known as the "king of cool drinks", is the most popular drink in the world, with a daily sales volume of 300 million bottles. It is the largest beverage company in the world today. However, an innovation in the 1980s almost ruined all this.

In order to meet the needs of a new generation of young people, the Coca-Cola Company of the United States decided to change the original formula, give up the approaching Pepsi, and occupy a larger market share. Coca-Cola's new formula went on the market, but the Coca-Cola Company received tens of thousands of protest letters and numerous protest calls from Coca-Cola's old customers. They strongly protested that Coca-Cola changed its original formula and culture, which seriously hurt their trust in Coca-Cola, made them extremely sad, and strongly demanded to change back to the original formula. In Houston and Atlanta, consumers even held demonstrations. ...

A few months later, under the pressure of the market and the public, Coca-Cola had to withdraw all new Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola's new formula ended in failure. The taste of Coca-Cola hasn't changed much since then. Three months later, the company introduced the old formula of coke, which saved the crisis in time through a large number of promotional activities. By the end of 1986, the new coke had disappeared from the market.

Nowadays, "innovation" seems to have become a fashion. For a while, everyone was talking about innovation, and everything should be innovative. Indeed, no matter what we do, we can't stick to the old things. However, we can't just leave those excellent traditions behind. After all, innovation is not everything.

Innovation should come from "sureness"

Nowadays, "change" and "innovation" seem to be a fashion, as if the whole world is talking about these fashionable concepts. There is an old saying in China that "change makes sense, but general principles last for a long time". Everyone and even the whole society need innovation to keep moving forward, just like many great inventions and the struggles of many successful people.

But what is the basis of innovation? We should not forget that innovation comes from daily "down-to-earth" efforts. Without hard work, innovation will not happen out of thin air.

The foundation of innovation is to do actions and things that everyone can do but disdain to do. These things run through the whole daily life, and even you can't remember an action you completed. The moment of innovation is indeed a qualitative leap, but the continuous accumulation of previous quantity requires unimaginable efforts of ordinary people. Sometimes, we can only see the achievements and brilliance brought by innovation, but we can't see the bitterness and efforts behind it, but all this is inevitable to achieve innovative results.

As we all know, the electric light is a great invention of the great scientist Edison. Edison was able to invent the electric light, not on a whim, not only by his wisdom, but also by his down-to-earth actions, repeated failures and little progress. Finally, the light came on, and Edison's innovation succeeded. Many innovations are made by practical efforts. Innovation is indeed the driving force of our social progress, but down-to-earth action is the most basic condition for our success. In short, innovation stimulates us to move forward, and then we need to move forward step by step.