I have invented many things. I have 32 patents.
In some of these cases in particular, I had to go against what everyone else was doing. I had to break the rules, part with conventional wisdom, and challenge “truths”. In a couple cases I had to violate the building code to make things better. I risked lawsuits and my business, but I knew I was right.
In those cases, I changed my industry forever. I brought more value, security, comfort and health to millions of homeowners that just was not available before.
You don’t have to play by other people’s rules.
What conventions in your industry are you obeying because they were always there?
What if you started over and reinvented it all based on what you know now?
What would your customers love?
In our industry we see that the permit process is different from municipality to municipality. Each set of paperwork is different but asking for the same information. Each municipality is enforcing the same building code. The state should be creating a common application process, like the college common app. You want to help?
The majority is always wrong. Defy industry norms. I love it! Obviously your incessant doodling led to your 39 patents. Congratulations.
I challenge conventional “wisdom” every day. It’s part of what makes us different from our competition. We don’t do it the same way others do, and we don’t get the same results either. When someone balks at us and says “that’s not the way others do it” I say, and that’s the reason you hired us and not them! We build it to last and improve on everything we can, even if it goes against conventional techniques. I’m also slow to adopt new and “better” products until they are time tested and/or proven.
I did something yesterday that was against company policy but it yielded a $500 sale. I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing, did it right in front of the HR manager, and was not called on the carpet. Sometimes you have to challenge conventional wisdom and do the right thing for the customer, even if sometimes it goes against company policy. I had a manager in 1995 that told me “you aren’t doing your job if you aren’t breaking some glass once in a while.” Great advice.