Hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings have designed a gigantic computer, called Deep Thought to find once and for all the ultimate question to Life, the Universe and Everything. Deep Thought, the gigantic supercomputer calculated and calculated and finally came with the answer: "forty-two". And then an even bigger computer had to be designed to find the question to which 42 was the answer.
(The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams)
The problem for the 'hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings' who had designed Deep Thought, was one of their own making. They had simply started at the wrong end. Like Gulliver we are mostly looking for answers. Take for instance this book, most likely you have bought it because you thought it might give you some answers ( perhaps not the Ultimate Answer). Yet the attention in creativity should instead be on asking the right question(s). The answer is YOU! Creative thinking means searching the questions to which I could be the answer. The questions are in the situation, the people you work with, the organization, the environment. So by stopping to look for answers and influencing people, I can ask myself what I can change in myself so as to be a better answer to the situation. In business terms this is called 'marketing'.
how super is the super fiber?
For several years now the Dutch Akzo concern and American Du Pont have been meeting regularly in court rooms all over the world. In fact more often there than on the doorsteps of prospective customers. In a civilized, but decisive way they are fighting a very complicated battle. Both sides have put millions of dollars into legal proceedings. The bone of contention is an artificial fiber: Akzo has Twaron, Du Pont Kevlar. It is a miraculous fiber with super qualities. Both claim exclusivity of the fiber itself and/or certain production processes. In various countries they are having legal suits for infringement of patents. Du Pont has managed to ban Akzo from the American and British markets till 1990. Unless an appeal of Du Pont is granted, Akzo has the rights for the W.German market. In Holland Du Pont can be excluded (verdict of Arnhem law court in 1986), but Akzo is not exercising its rights as it cannot supply enough and does not want to embarrass users of the Du Pont fiber. Apparently both companies see an enormous potential for this super fiber thanks to its strength and lightness. Applications are to be found in car tires and aircraft bodies. However, neither company dares (or wants?) to give an estimate of the market. The Wall Street Journal of October 1, 1987, reports that Du Pont, who entered the market as long ago as 1972, still has great difficulty in selling the product. The investment has been enormous: 25 years of R&D, 700 million $ investment and 200 m$ starting-up losses. No other product has ever warranted such investments. Only during the past 2 years Du Pont has beheld some profit from its fiber. Annual sales are estimated at 300 m$, and the Journal states that in years to come this will rise by some 10 % annually. In spite of the fact that Kevlar is used in quite a few products - president Reagan- is said to wear a bullet-proof jacket reinforced with Kevlar- the fiber is hardly finding acceptance.
The sales problems show that a technological breakthrough is no guarantee for financial triumphs. The Kevlar Marketing manager, Wayne Smith said: "Kevlar was the answer, but we did not know to what."
The search for application opportunities has so far cost tens of thousands of hours, numerous false starts, dead-ends and quite a few gambles, normally spoken not in line with Du Pont's "safety first principle" . Tire-manufacturers seem to prefer steel and are hard to persuade otherwise. Is Du Pont happy about Kevlar? It does not seem so. Malcolm Hecht, a marketing expert of Du Pont's says in the Journal: "We are used to selling what we make. Now we are making what we can sell."
And Akzo? "Production is starting up well", says a spokesman. "In 1987 this is good for hundreds of tons Twaron. By 1990 full production will be : 5000 tons annually. The demand is not enormous, so full capacity is not yet feasible." The applications? "Penetration in protective clothing can be relatively fast. In the aircraft industry times of years are maintained. We intend to penetrate especially in the tire sector."