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More than 30 years ago a study published in the
Harvard Business Review determined that white-collar workers could have ten times
more time by not wasting time. Part of that waste is unproductive
innovation--time spent re-inventing the wheel.
Back in 1982 scientists in California proposed an explanation for major changes in levels
of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Recently some University of Michigan researchers revived
that "old" theory. Who tossed it out in the first place? Why?
I'm sure you've upgraded your favorite computer program and wished you had stuck with the
old version. What happened to what it was that made the old version so good?
In the old days, they say, doctors could tell a lot about a
patient's condition by observing odors in the sick room. Could this old-fashioned skill be
revived? Could it replace or support more sophisticated and costlier techniques?
Tom Magliozzi of "Car Talk" fame test-drives up to 100 cars a year. In Technology
Review, he lists some design blunders that give innovation a bad name,
including: failing to copy good ideas, too many cooks, and "Oops! Where are we going
to put this?"
Remember, it's not an innovation if it makes matters worse. So if you're in charge and a
bunch of conquer-the-world creative types are trying to shove change for the sake of
change down your throat, just do what Marlene Dietrich did when Hitler asked her to be his
mistress. She said no.
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