PDMA 2006 - Track 2 - Innovation: As Easy as Screwing in a Lightbulb?

Submitted by David Olson on Thu, 11/09/2006 - 10:42am

Speaker: Dr. Hitendra Patel, Innovation Management Inc.

This presentation dealt with the history of the lighting industry, with a focus on Sylvania light bulbs.

In something like lighting, the whole issue of systems and standards becomes crucial. Lighting fixtures needed to settle on a standard so manufacturers' bulbs would fit every type of lamp. Standards tend to stifle innovation.

For their out-of-the-box innovation, their ideators used more than "voice of the customer". VOC is most definitely not the same as understanding consumers' unmet needs. They used multiple methods to nurture innovative thinking:

  • They watched Science Fiction movies, to see how lighting was depicted in those movies
  • They engaged futurists
  • They thought of odd business partners
  • They thought of totally new customer targets and opportunities
  • They challenged "givens", e.g., lights that don't need to screw in
  • They strove to redefine how light is delivered to people

They thought of a set of dimensions to use in ideating on lighting opportunities, e.g.

  • fashion
  • shapability
  • space
  • inspiration
  • wellbeing
  • experience
  • creativity
  • health
  • simplicity

They wanted to move from thinking about light bulbs, to new platforms for lighting

Some examples of ideas they showed:

CONSTRUCTION PLATFORM

  • Glow-in-the-dark highway lane lighting, energized by solar energy during the day
  • Luminescent paint in hallways and tunnels

DESIGN PLATFORM

  • Lighting incorporated into tables, furniture, walls, staircases, etc.
  • Lighted gardens and outdoor walkways

WELL BEING PLATFORM

  • Light therapy
  • Suntanning lights
  • Teeth whitening lights

These lighting technologies (LED business) has grown to 1/2 billion dollars in ten years and is expected to continue to grow.