Just One Slight Adjustment: The History of Play Doh
Over the weekend, Sarah and I watched a couple of movies. Both films, though unrelated, touched on a similar idea; that of making slight adjustments to cause much larger, positive repercussions in our lives.
I was intrigued by a story one of the characters told about the history of Play Doh. I looked it up to find out if the story was true or not. Apparently it is and is quite an inspiring tale. Here goes.
What we know as Play Doh, was originally designed, not as a child's toy, but as a wallpaper cleaner. Back in the day, (1855-1950's) coal burning furnaces were the way most American homes were heated during the winter. However, when spring time came around, all that fashionable wallpaper had collected months of black soot that had to be cleaned off.
Cleo McVicker and his brother N.W. McVicker created a wallpaper cleaner that was perfect for the job... until America began to heat their homes with oil rather than coal. The need for their wallpaper product plummeted. By 1954, their business was on the verge of collapse.
Through a series of events, they learned the wallpaper cleaner was great for children to make Christmas ornaments out of. Soon the light bulbs went off and they re-marketed the failing wall paper cleaner and a child's toy. Today, their company has sold over 2 billion cans of Play Doh.
All they did was add a little color, give it a new purpose and re-direct their target market.
Mind blowing.
My question is this. What gold mine, what treasure troves are we sitting on right now that have been used for the wrong, a less than or a failing purpose? What gifts of creativity or even common things are in our midst right now that with just a little tweak here or there could explode with purpose, destiny and impact generations? Just a few slight adjustments took the very same product from becoming a useless relic of the past to a household item every kid in America has enjoyed for decades. What slight adjustments in our own lives may transform a common thing into something unimaginably fruitful the world has never seen before?
Perhaps it is time to become more childlike. Wonder is hiding all around us waiting to be discovered. Dive in. Take a look. See what you find.
I was intrigued by a story one of the characters told about the history of Play Doh. I looked it up to find out if the story was true or not. Apparently it is and is quite an inspiring tale. Here goes.
What we know as Play Doh, was originally designed, not as a child's toy, but as a wallpaper cleaner. Back in the day, (1855-1950's) coal burning furnaces were the way most American homes were heated during the winter. However, when spring time came around, all that fashionable wallpaper had collected months of black soot that had to be cleaned off.
Cleo McVicker and his brother N.W. McVicker created a wallpaper cleaner that was perfect for the job... until America began to heat their homes with oil rather than coal. The need for their wallpaper product plummeted. By 1954, their business was on the verge of collapse.
Through a series of events, they learned the wallpaper cleaner was great for children to make Christmas ornaments out of. Soon the light bulbs went off and they re-marketed the failing wall paper cleaner and a child's toy. Today, their company has sold over 2 billion cans of Play Doh.
All they did was add a little color, give it a new purpose and re-direct their target market.
Mind blowing.
My question is this. What gold mine, what treasure troves are we sitting on right now that have been used for the wrong, a less than or a failing purpose? What gifts of creativity or even common things are in our midst right now that with just a little tweak here or there could explode with purpose, destiny and impact generations? Just a few slight adjustments took the very same product from becoming a useless relic of the past to a household item every kid in America has enjoyed for decades. What slight adjustments in our own lives may transform a common thing into something unimaginably fruitful the world has never seen before?
Perhaps it is time to become more childlike. Wonder is hiding all around us waiting to be discovered. Dive in. Take a look. See what you find.
Change can be a good thing. It's change that keeps innovation inventing new things that help in our everyday lives. It's change that takes someone from the depths of despair and nothingness and makes them into a leading business person.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. If you want to change the world you first have to start with yourself. Quite moping around feeling sorry that you're not doing anything and just jump in. Add some food coloring to your life and find out just what you really can do.
Just a note to myself to remember; a biblical example of a slight adjustment that brought an extreme fruitfulness is when Jesus told the fellas to put their nets on the other side of the boat.
ReplyDeleteThey had fished all night and caught nothing. All they did was heed a simple directive word he gave to them. It didn't require a life overhaul to obey. They just simply lifted their net and placed it on the other side of the boat. The result? They caught such a load of fish they couldn't carry it all to the shore.