Most of us have difficulty in understanding how perceptions of reality can become so distorted. In a way, these distortions also occur in business where the entrenched perceptions of experts make it difficult for innovative and creative employees. In 1968, the Swiss dominated the watch industry. Enterprising inventors invented the electronic watch movement at their research institute in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It was rejected by every Swiss watch manufacturer. Based on their past experiences in the industry, they believed this couldn’t possibly be the watch of the future. Seiko took one look at this invention that the Swiss manufacturers rejected took over the world watch market.
When Univac invented the computer, they refused to talk to business people who inquired about it, because they said the computer was invented for scientists and had no business applications. Then along came IBM. IBM, itself, once said that according to their past experiences in the computer market, there is virtually no market for the personal computer. In fact, they said they were absolutely certain there were no more than five or six people in the entire world who had need for a personal computer. And along came Apple.
Fred Smith, while a student at Yale, came up with the concept of Federal Express, a national overnight delivery service. He wrote a paper detailing his concept. His professor graded it a C- saying that if Fred wanted a higher grade he would have to present a plan for a business that was feasible and possible. When Fred started Federal Express, virtually every delivery expert in the U.S., doomed his enterprise to failure. Based on their experiences in the industry, no one, they said, will pay a fancy price for speed and reliability.
I live near Rochester, N.Y., home of Xerox. Chester Carlson invented xerography in 1938. Virtually every major corporation, including IBM and Kodak, scoffed at his idea and turned him down. They claimed that since carbon paper was cheap and plentiful, who in their right mind would buy an expensive copier. A group of people created a small company funded by open-minded investors that eventually became Xerox. The investors all became multi-millionaires. When was the last time you saw carbon paper?
And, finally, my all time favorite example of expert thinking. In 1899 Charles Duell, the Director of the U.S. Patent Office, suggested that the government close the office because everything that can be invented has been invented.
These are examples of experts who could not see beyond what they had been taught and what had worked before. They could not conceive of product improvements, markets, or business innovations that were different from their experiences. They could not change the way they saw things. Whereas, creative people look at the same information as everyone else and see something different. Much of my work in creative thinking is based on changing perception, because if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
