5 Everyday Objects That are the Result of Great Work
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The document highlights five innovative everyday objects—cell phone, microwave, post-it notes, soda bottle, and Instagram—demonstrating how great work skills led to their creation. Each inventor used critical thinking, collaboration, and perseverance to transform initial ideas into products that have significantly impacted daily life. It encourages readers to adopt these principles to improve their own work and make a difference in their organizations.
5 Everyday Objects That are the Result of Great Work
- 1. 5 Everyday Objects that are the Result of Great Work
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- 4. Great work leads to improvement and innovation. It’s creating a difference people love. That’s why some of the most ingenious everyday objects are the result of great work. Here’s our top 5 list of brilliant everyday objects whose creators took something GOOD and applied a great work skill to create something GREAT that’s appreciated and loved by millions of people.
- 5. These everyday innovations use each great work skill: Ask the right question See for yourself Talk to your outer circle Improve the mix Deliver the difference
- 6. 1. Cell phone In 1973, Marty Cooper was tasked with inventing a car phone. Instead of diving right in to his project, he paused to think and reflect. “Why are we calling places when we should be calling people?”heasked.Thatquestionchanged his parameters and challenged his preconceptions of what a phone could be.
- 7. By asking the right question, Marty redefined his possibilities, and the idea of the cell phone was born.
- 8. 2. Microwave One day at work, Percy Spencer noticed that the candy bar in his pocket started to melt as he walked past a device emitting microwave beams. And that gave him an idea. He realized that if he could just harness the power of the microwave beam in an enclosed area, he could heat up food.
- 9. Percy discovered the heating power of microwaves because he was in the thick of things, experiencing them firsthand. And then he continued to see for himself. The first food he deliberately cooked was popcorn—it was successful. Then, he tried to cook an egg—it exploded in his coworker’s face. But because he took the time to see for himself, Percy created an appliance we now consider a kitchen staple.
- 10. 3. Post-It® Notes Post-It® notes were devised by a series of inventors. First, Spencer Silver, a 3M employee, discovered a weak, reusable adhesive. He tried to come up with a useful application for the glue, but none of his ideas got off the ground until five years later, when he spoke with Geoff Nicholson. Nicholson invented a sticky board using the adhesive, and started marketing it. Nicholson then introduced Art Fry to the adhesive, who decided to use it on the back of slips of paper to keep his place in his hymnbook. The initial Post-It® note was born.
- 11. Silver spoke to Nicholson and Nicholson involved Fry—without all three of their ideas, the weak, reusable adhesive that now gives Post-It® notes their stick may never have been used successfully. But by speaking to their outer circle, gathering ideas, and collaborating, together these men invented the Post-It note.
- 12. 4. Soda Bottle In 2006, Rajendra Gursahaney, a Pepsi executive, wanted to invent a soda bottle that used less plastic—a bottle that would weigh less, cost less, and waste less. But the process wasn’t easy. He had to hand test different techniques, build a team of experts from different industries, and even relocate to test his creation in Germany and then in Russia. Finally, he succeeded in reducing the amount of plastic per soda bottle by nearly 25%.
- 13. Rajendra succeeded because he persevered. He improved the mix and stuck with his innovation, testing, tweaking, and perfecting the bottles until they were just right. He oversaw the implementation of the new soda bottles, which save PepsiCo nearly $8 million annually. It was his drive to see the project through & deliver the difference that created a greener, leaner bottle.
- 14. 1 5. Instagram When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger developed an app called Burbn they were excited to help users share their location with friends and family wherever they were. As part of sharing one’s whereabouts, Burbn also gave users the ability to take a photo of their location and post it online. But after Burbn didn’t take off—people weren’t using it and found the app too complex with too many features—they stopped and asked: what was the one thing about Burbn that delivered a difference? To their surprise, it was the photo sharing aspect of it. So the two developers started looking at every app available at the time in the photography category. 1 1
- 15. Kevin and Mike’s response to their initial failure was to look at what they learned and move on from there. They developed a new app that let users capture a life moment in a photo, customized its look, write a caption, and post it. Instagram came to life and a difference was made that people truly love.
- 16. Using these Great Work skills, how can you take your work from good to great? • Can you make it faster? • Can you make easier? • Can you make it more efficient, or more valuable? • Can you make it more interesting? • Can you make a difference that the recipient of your work will love?
- 17. We invite you to take the Great Work Challenge and become a difference-maker in your organization today. CLICK HERE
- 19. O.C. TANNER AND THE O.C. TANNER INSTITUTE O.C. Tanner, number 40 on the 2015 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, helps organizations create great work environments by inspiring and appreciating great work. Thousands of clients globally use the company’s cloud-based technology, tools, awards, and education services to engage talent, increase performance, drive goals, and create experiences that fuel the human spirit. Learn more at octanner.com. The O.C. Tanner Institute regularly commissions research and provides a global forum for exchanging ideas about recognition, engagement, leadership, culture, human values, and sound business principles.
- 20. MYTHS ABOUT GREAT WORK: AND the Reality of What to Do to Make it Happen 6 ? How to Master the Art of a Great Meeting SHRM CONFERENCE 2015 HIT HIT 5 00 GAMIFICATION: Leadership Lessons from Today’s Top Women Leaders CORE ORANGE HEX: F16623 BRIGHT ORANGE HEX: F48D20 DARK ORANGE HEX: B34726 MEDIUM GRAY HEX: BEBEBE LIGHT GRAY HEX: E2E2E2 BLACK HEX: 000000 O.C. TANNER CORPORATE WEBSITE 2014 BRAND COLOR HEX# FORMULAS BRIGHT PURPLE HEX: B9347B DARK PURPLE HEX: 6A3351 CORE PURPLE HEX: 944B72 BRIGHT TEAL HEX: 93D3C9 DARK TEAL HEX: 33A796 EXPERT TEAL HEX: 85AEAC CORE TEAL HEX: 60BEB7 HOW TO PREPARE FOR MILLENNIAL RECRUITING More Presentations By O.C. Tanner