Liquid Leadership Blog Home About Brad Szollose Goodies for Event Planners Videos Testimonials

Monday, April 25, 2011

Innovation: When
It Seems Obvious


Back in the late 90's Todd Greene, came up with an award winning idea based on his own personal dilemma; he needed an easier way to shave his head. But the tools at the time sucked. Anyone who remembers the good old days may remember, to shave your head you only had a few choices...shaving cream, electric hair clipper, a Gillette razor on a long handle, your medicine cabinet mirror and a long evening involving whiskey-straight up. Painful. Awkward. And required your scalp to heal up for a few days Yea right...the best a man can get.

Armed with a small investment, a passion for his idea, and a design background Tom developed a prototype that immediately made shaving your head a joyful event. I'm not saying it was joyful like an ice cold beer and a good ball game, but you get the picture. Tom turned the event of shaving your dome something to look forward to. Tom called his racing car looking invention HeadBlade®.

Now to you and me HeadBlade seems obvious. Cool idea. Timely. Solves a huge problem. And it is so well designed that even if you don't shave your head, you want one. It's a guy thing. But astoundingly when Todd pitched his idea to the razor companies he was rejected!

How could something so innovative not raise
the pulse rate of a single executive at the
major razor companies?

I'll tell you why. Too may of us have a lot of rules in our head. (I'm serious). Rules like, why would anyone buy that? Or I don't see a market for that...that...thing! Or, who the heck are you? That's why I like the TV show Shark Tank on ABC. Entrepreneurs see the potential of a new product, the market it could fit into, and the potential to create an entirely new arena for that product...one that didn't exist before.

Executives need to learn this skill. The skill of seeing potential from a new idea.

This is why innovative ideas may seem obvious to you and I, but lose traction when presented to the wrong person. Too many strong opinions about what will work, how could I make money on this, or simply not understanding what the idea is has left many a company wishing they had THAT product on their roster of offerings.

So without any real help from the big brands, Todd turned his company HeadBlade® into a multimillion dollar corporation and a niche brand. Hey, ya gotta do what you gotta do. By aligning his HeadBlade products with The Ultimate Fighter (founder Dana White also shaves his head) Todd turned his company into a lifestyle brand. A brand you can't live without.

Here is a short video to introduce you to the HeadBlade lifestyle:


So how does someone spot the next big idea? Start by dropping those strong opinions and ask yourself, "what is it about this that I am missing?" and "is there already a need for this product that is untapped?" "does this product have legs for a full line of product offerings?"

Now Gillette, Schick and Braun are trying to copy the leadership that HeadBlade established.

That's what I call getting caught with your pants down. Don't make the mistakes I've made (I almost missed the Internet Boom. Doi.). And BTW: HeadBlade is such a groundbreaking design, it sits on display in the Museum of Modern Art [MOMA].

Thanks again for reading...








Brad Szollose

Brad is the award winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia: Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing The Way We Run Things ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

"Liquid Leadership is a game changer" - TJ, New York


No comments:

Post a Comment

Brad Szollose Bio:


__________________________________________________________________

Who Is Brad Szollose?: 

Brad Szollose, host of Awakened Nation®
First things, first. How do you say Szollose?
It’s pronounced zol-us.

From founding partner and CMO of K2 Design, Inc. the first Digital Agency to go public on NASDAQ to international leadership development expert, Brad Szollose has worked with household names like MasterCard, American Management Association and Tony Robbins, to create leadership training programs for a new generation.

As an award-winning creative director, he has been the creative force behind hundreds of high-end corporate events, personal and consumer brands, and website launches. Brad is the recipient of the Corporate Identity Design Award and the Axiom Business Book Award along with various awards for website and print design.

Brad's unique management model was awarded the Arthur Andersen New York Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation Amongst Employees (Workforce Culture).

Today, the world’s leading business publications seek out Brad’s insights on next-generation leadership development, branding and modern Management Strategies, and he has been featured (both print and online versions) in Forbes, Inc., Advertising Age, USA Today, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, International Business Times, Le Journal du Dimanche (France), and The Hindu Business Line to name a few, along with television, radio and podcast appearances on CGTN America, CBS, Roku Network and other media outlets.

Brad continues to challenge the status quo with the 10th Anniversary Edition of Liquid Leadership, and his new podcast, Awakened Nation®: a Deep Dive into Extraordinary Conversations.

After 35 years in New York City, he now splits his time between Las Vegas and Denver. In his free time, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, working Star Trek quotes into everyday conversation, and painting and drawing the stunning landscape of the American Southwest and The Rocky Mountains.