Creativity rewarded
Everyone wants to think of something new—to solve a problem no one else can solve. And every business wants to encourage its employees to have the next great idea. But creativity is not the same as hard work and effort; it requires genuine inspiration. It is the product of a mind thoroughly intrigued by a situation. Thus, creativity comes not when we are paid or rewarded, but when we focus our attention on something because we want to.
JAPAN RAILWAYS EAST had the contract to build a bullet train between Tokyo and Nagano to be put in place in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Unfortunately, the tunnels the company built through the mountains kept filling with water. The company brought in a highly paid team of engineers to come up with the best solution. The engineers analyzed the problems and drew up an extensive set of plans to build an expensive drainage system and a system of aqueducts to divert the water out of the tunnels.
A thirsty maintenance worker one day came up with a different solution when he bent over and took a large swallow of the tunnel water. It tasted great, better than the bottled water he had in his lunch pail.
He told his boss they should bottle the tunnel water and sell it as premium mineral water.
Thus was born Oshimizu bottled water, which the railroad sells not only from vending machines on its platforms but now also by home delivery.
A huge cost was transformed into a huge profit, all by someone looking at the situation differently.
