Examples of Out-of-the-Box Thinking by Famous People in History

In 1984, when Coca-Cola was strongly challenged by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola gave Sergio Zaman the task of turning around the competition. Zaman took to replace the old model of Coca-Cola and labeled it as "New Coca-Cola", which was highly publicized. In the new marketing strategy, Zaman made a serious mistake, he was arrogant and did not take into account the variability of customers' tastes, he turned the sour taste of the old Coca-Cola into a sweet taste, which went against the long-established habits of the customers. As a result, the new Coca-Cola became the most disastrous new product since the famous Edsel automobile failure in the U.S., so much so that after 79 days, the "Old Coca-Cola" had to return to the counter to support the situation - changed to the "Classic Coke". Zaman's failure had such a negative impact on his position in the company that he soon left under fire. When Zaman left Coca-Cola, he did not talk to anyone in the company for 14 months. Of that unpleasant time, he recalls, "I was so lonely then!" But he didn't close any doors. With another partner, he started a consulting firm, operating a computer, a telephone and a fax machine from a basement in Atlanta he jokingly called "Zaman's Market," advising such prestigious companies as Microsoft Corp. and the Brewery Machinery Group.

His credo: "Break the mold and take risks. Guided by this credo, Zaman successfully planned one growth strategy after another for a large number of clients, including Microsoft and Miller-Bruin. In the end, even Coca-Cola came to him for advice and asked him to come back to reorganize the company's work, and Robert, the president of Coca-Cola, admitted: "We lost our competitiveness because of our intolerance of mistakes; in fact, it's inevitable that one will fall on his face as long as he's in motion."

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Edison (1847-1931) Edison, Thomas Alva

American inventor. Famous for founding factory laboratories and pioneering ways to integrate technological development with scientific research, he was born on February 11, 1847, to Dutch immigrants in Mylan, Ohio, and died on October 18, 1931, in West Orange, New Jersey. Had only 3 months of formal education as a child...worked as a paperboy, peddler, and newsboy from the age of 12 to earn his living. Influenced by M. Faraday, Edison spent his life experimenting with electricity and inventing, and in 1868 he invented a ballot recorder that he tried to sell to Congress, but it was not adopted. Edison's failure to find a market for his first invention made him pay more attention to the practicality of his inventions.In 1869, Edison moved from Boston to New York. He improved the telegraph of the Golden Indicator Telegraph Company and was rewarded by the manager of the company with a salary of $300 per month (a very high salary at that time.) In 1870, he moved to New Jersey and began his period of efficient invention; in 1874, he improved the typewriter, and in 1876, he added a charcoal microphone to the telephone invented by A.G. Bell, which improved the loudness of the received calls.

In 1876, he founded his famous laboratory. In this laboratory, he broke the tradition of individual scientists engaged in research alone, organizing a group of specialists (including N. Tesla and others), by his title and assigned tasks, *** with a commitment to an invention, thus creating a modern scientific research in the right way. 1877, the invention of the phonograph, which made him famous throughout the world. 1878, the beginning of the incandescent lamp research in more than ten months after a number of failures in 1877, the invention of the phonograph in 1877, the invention of the phonograph in 1877, the invention of the phonograph in 1877, the invention of the phonograph in 1877, which made him famous throughout the world. In 1878, began research on incandescent lamps, in more than a dozen months after many failures, in October 21, 1879 successfully lit the incandescent charcoal filament lamps, stable light for two full days. 1882, in New York, Pearl Street, founded the world's second public thermal power plant, the establishment of the New York City District, electric lighting system, which has become a prototype of the modern electric power system. The realization of electric lighting, not only greatly improve the conditions of people's production and labor, but also heralded the electrification of daily life era is coming. 1883, Edison in the test vacuum bulb, accidentally found that the cold, hot electrodes between the current through. This phenomenon, later known as the Edison effect, became the basis of the electronic tube and the electronics industry. 1887, moved to West Orange, and in the same year in the city to create a larger scale, also equipped with newer laboratories, that is, the famous Edison Laboratory (later called the invention of the factory). Here, based on the inventions of G. Eastman, he made his own camera, and in 1914, he made the first sound movie system with a phonograph and a camera. In later years, his inventions and innovations included the storage battery, the cement mixer, the recording telephone, the duplex and multiplex telegraph systems, and the railroad brake. During World War I, he served as chairman of the Naval Technical Advisory Board, directing research on torpedoes and anti-submarine equipment and inventing dozens of weapons. In 1920, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the U.S. government and the Legion of Honor by the French government, and in 1928, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the U.S. Congress. Throughout his life, Edison and his laboratory*** were awarded 1,093 patents for their inventions. Edison invented many inventions in his life, but after all, he lacked systematic scientific knowledge, and thus the development of modern technology can not make the correct judgment. the late 19th century, AC power transmission system has appeared, but he still insisted on direct current transmission, and in the fierce competition with the G. Westinghouse lost the construction of Niagara hydroelectric power plant contract; his laboratory blindly test production of magnetic ore dressing equipment, exhausted the invention of electric light income funds, and finally had to give up. The funds from the invention of the electric light were exhausted, and finally had to be abandoned. However, Edison in the development of electricity, electrical manufacturing to promote the application of electrical energy and other aspects of the contribution, making him one of the greatest inventors in human history.