Mistakes that become Genius

In 1850 a cook became frustrated with a whiny customer. You know that type of customer- the one who is never pleased with what you do; the one that has perfection standards that would even put God shame. Well that customer was in his restaurant. That customer was complaining that his potatoes weren't cooked properly. So the disgruntled cook decided to fry the potatoes to crispy to tick the customer off.

But it backfired. The customer loved it and that was the birth of the potato chip!

Today the potato industry is a $3.2 billion dollar industry. Wouldn't you love to have one of your mistakes fail like that? Matter-of-fact over six pounds of potato chips are eaten by Americans every year!

Now let's take the above facts and I will show you how you can use them to open different discussions and presentations.

Scenario One
You have to present to prospect a new product. They have told you they believe their old product works great.

You open with: The average American eats six pounds of potato chips a day. The amazing fact is not that American's consume so much but rather that, if it weren't for an error in 1850, they wouldn't even have existed. The only reason we have potato chips today is because someone took a risk and made a potato in a whole new way. We feel that the XYZ is going to impact the market in the same way the potato chip revolutionized potatoes.

Scenario Two:
You have to start a brainstorming session and you want lots of new ideas.

You start with: The best inventions and ideas often come from the oddest of circumstances. Velcro came from a person noticing how burrs stuck to his dog's fur. Postit Notes came from a failed experiment trying to make a strong glue and in 1850 a $3.2 billion dollar industry was born due to a disgruntled cook that was irritated with a whiny customer. The customer kept complaining that his potatoes weren't crisp enough so the cook did what any one would do- he fried them to a bloody crisp and the potato chip was born.

Today we are here to put our heads together to come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things. Remember all ideas are good, marrying two ideas can be revolutionary and just turning something on its head can make it completely new. So let's take some time to be innovative, collaborative and creative. Enjoy your potato chips and let's get started!

Scenario Three:
Trying to get a person to break out of their old thinking.

In front of you is a small mistake that became a great innovation that today is a $3.2 billion dollar industry. Up until 1850 potatoes were either baked, sliced and cooked lightly in oil, or boiled. It wasn't until someone accidentally fried the potatoes in oil until they became thin crisps that potato chips were born. It is by breaking out of our old habits and thinking that new ideas are born. Today we need to look at how to break out of how we have always done things in order to make our product better.

Take Action: Take a small concept or fact and look at how you can spin it creatively for an opening.

Anne Warfield,
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