Topic for Discussion: What did thinking for himself do for Bob's business?

Answer: The 20-year pursuit to develop his sweetcorn seed started with the idea that automated harvesting would be possible if there were only one ear of corn per stalk. While others were trying to grow more ears per stalk, Bob was doing the opposite. He could see that labor, both the time it takes to hand harvest and the toll hard physical labor takes on workers, could be minimized in the long run if corn could be harvested by a machine.

Topic for Discussion: Why did this line of thinking take such courage?

Answer: Because he was all alone. To build his confidence as he reached for the goal of one ear per stalk, he got help from a trained genetic engineer and it took 20 years for them to come up with the super sweet variety that the whole industry is now planting.

So, when you decide to go against the grain, or to swim upstream, you can look for the other mavericks to join you. This is a good lesson to learn; Bob did not get advice from another farmer. He got it from a professional in a related field. It might be good to think of this as a zigzag line to the goal. We would like to find the straight path, but those rarely exist.

Topic for Discussion: Do you care about anything enough to work on it for 20 years?

Answer: If the answer is "Yes," you'll either achieve that goal or surpass it. Most of us simply give up too quickly or don't find the thing that holds our fascination long enough to truly master it.

Topic for Discussion: How has Bob's invention impacted his business?

Answer: The corn is now harvested by machine. With one tractor and driver, corn is picked efficiently and the employees who used to do this are now working in the processing plant sorting and packing the corn. Employees don't have to be out in the hot sun, walking the narrow rows, carrying heavy loads and breathing the dust from the fields.

Topic for Discussion: Is starting from scratch the only way to invent a product?

Answer: No. Bob talked about the machine he uses to husk the corn. It was basically invented by a company in Oregon. Before purchasing the machine, he recommended changes that would prevent the machine from bruising his prized sweet corn. Incremental changes can be very powerful. Bob has no formal engineering training, but he is responsible for a number of equipment developments that are industry standards today.

Topic for Discussion: How did Bob's mechanic explain Bob's genius?

Answer: Bob has common sense. I think your instincts tell you what is best and another label for this could be common sense. For example, Bob invented the single rib tire then had the John Deere people manufacture it. He didn't ask the John Deere design team to come up with a tire that requires little steering on the part of the equipment operator. He did it himself because it was common sense to him. However, he didn't waste his time making the tire.

Just because you buy equipment from a big supplier, don't think it has all the answers. You are in the trenches and you probably know best about what you need to do your work. When we just accept what others offer, we may be settling for an inferior product. In fact, many big companies have customer councils and aggressively poll us for ideas. You can't be bothered with manufacturing everything you invent unless you see doing this as an opportunity that won't take you away from your core goals.

You may have studied Howard Kent of Ironbound Supply. He has a great business selling pipes, values and fittings. He invented a product for the tennis market using PVC pipe which is one of the products he sells. However, taking his invention to the marketplace turned out to be a terrible idea. It distracted him from his core business and it brought in almost no profits.

Bob's innovation is always focused on his core business. He is looking at the details of each task and asking how he can make that task easier and if there is a better way to accomplish goal.

You think about it: Are you thinking for yourself or going along with the best practices of your industry? Do you have ideas that you believe could have a positive impact on your industry? It is worth the energy? What would happen if you idea was implemented globally?