When I was in business school at Colorado State, each of us were assigned to come up with a product idea and then pitch it. The assignment was explicitly to revolve around the pitch, while it was communicated that the actual design or idea didn’t really matter.
I came up with the bungy belt. The bungy belt and seat was a normal seatbelt but with a modification - instead of being a rigid restraint, the seatbelt had a little bit of bungy in it. You know, to increase the amount of time the user has to slow down.
The class hated the idea. The teacher hated the idea. They couldn’t get their heads around the rigid concepts they thought they knew. And, in spite of the assignment supposedly being about the pitch, I was marked down significantly. Why? Because they didn’t like the idea.
Business people are often very rigid in their thinking. They are not trained in engineering nor design. So they tend to try to keep their thoughts in safe harbor. But safe harbor isn’t where ideas and designs can bloom.
Reality doesn’t care about rigidity. In fact, reality has flex in it. Reality prefers non-rigidity for safety in some instances, rigidity in others. In fact, reality prefers a combination of the two. For example, all else equal the cabin itself should be very rigid but the rest of the car should give like a styrofoam egg.
Comes to mind a crash test study I was taught about in engineering school. The presentation video of the engineer’s new crumple zone was supposed to exhibit the improved safety of the new crumple zone design. When the video was presented, a candid camera showed two audiences - the business people, and the engineers.
Although this is not the same video, you get the idea…
When the car crashed, the vehicle remained completely rigid. It did not crumple at all. The one candid video of the audience reaction showed the business people cheering! IT WORKED! The engineering candid video showed the engineers pounding their heads against the desk. It did not work.
Without any give, the design was bad for the occupants of the car and for the occupants of the other car. Without anything to give, the occupants inside are forced to absorb blunt force trauma instead of a smooth crash. Although the design was a failure, the ignorant business people thought it was a success!
And I will add, most engineers are also very rigid in their thinking…
Reality DOES NOT CARE what you think. Reality DOES NOT CARE that you are stuck in your ways. Reality only cares about reality.
Dedicated to my old friend Kayla Adsit. May your good name continue to bloom new creation. God bless.
Copyright StealthMachines of Nebraska and original designer.
