Scalable Innovation

3

1

Invention

An Attempt to

Improve the World

We begin with a simple children’s poem that captures the trial-and-error

nature of the invention process. In “Invention” [1], Shel Silverstein shows a

boy who just made a creative breakthrough.

*

Excited, he shouts to the world

that he invented a light bulb that plugs into the sun.

At rst, the idea seems perfect: The sun has innite energy and the new

bulb converts it into an everlasting light. But, suddenly, the young inven-

tor discovers a major aw in his solution (Figure1.1)—“The cord ain’t long

enough.”

How disappointing! The breakthrough no longer looks promising and the

boy seems to accept his fai ...