“Every company wants to invent the next big thing. Look for product opportunities in your biggest challenges.”
Part Two: Chapter 6Build New Products
By Marc Kielburger
Impact through innovation: New products for the WEconomy
The savannah of Kenya's Maasai Mara is vast and beautiful. It is also home to some very dangerous creatures, most notably lions. So when you're sitting around a bonfire in the dead of night, the last thing you want to hear is something large crashing through the underbrush.
It was 2007, and Roxanne and I had invited the entire family along on our honeymoon to Kenya. As the noises drew closer, I feared we had inadvertently brought our loved ones to an untimely end. This was it—we were set to be dinner.
What emerged from the long grass was not a pack of hungry felines, but a jubilant crowd of Maasai warriors, mamas, and elders from the nearby community.
The chief stepped out from the throng. He explained that we were part of the Maasai family and needed to be married according to local custom. Speechless and a little choked up, we were placed back-to-back as the Maasai danced and sang around us. They placed grass on our shoes to symbolize that we were part of the Earth. Elders spit fermented goat's milk at our feet—not the most romantic gesture, but a sign of great respect in their culture. Roxanne was presented with an incredible collection of beaded ...
Get WEconomy now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
