May 26, 2009
MSN.com has featured a link to a Fast Company article on “Who’s Who” of creative talent that they have entitled “100 Most Creative People In
Business.” This is a celebration of creativity.
They range from Number 1 – Jonathan Ive (Senior Vice President of Industrial Design for Apple) to Number 100 – Chris Ferguson (Founder of Full Tilt Poker). How is that for diversity?
I went through the list and read a snap shot of each person, their accomplishments, their background, their industry, etc. The recurring impression that stuck with me was; if creativity can drive industries and applications as diverse as iPhones and Poker, how do we infuse that type of creativity into the construction business?
Well, the answer may be right in front of us and from a source that none of us wanted. The economic doldrums in which we currently find ourselves may be the impetus that we need. Whenever challenges present themselves, opportunities are “right around the corner.” Our challenge is to find the opportunity and then find the solution to the opportunity.
Example:
Let’s say that the market for exterior walls has fallen by 50%. Because of the increased pressure, caused by the fall in demand, the market price of a MCM Wall System has fallen from $35 per SF to $25 per SF. Where is the opportunity?
The opportunity resides with the company that can take this challenge and turn it into something. Is it possible to create a high quality MCM Wall System for $20 that is still profitable? I submit that it is not only possible but inevitable. However, it will not be created doing things the same way that we have always done them. There must be some “prime mover” in the marketplace to get the “thinking wheels in motion.”
Lack of business can be that “prime mover”. Most of us now have that motivation and it will be interesting to see what new products, systems and concepts will spring forth from the economic challenges we are currently facing.
I have traveled in China for business and they have a saying there that is apropos, “changes come faster than plans.”
Change is inevitable. How we react to change is what determines our success or failure. So, we would all be wise to embrace the changes and be creative.
Thanks,
Ted S. Miller