We love to connect the dots!
In this issue, we analyze what happened with a pair of scientists who combine their ideas to produce one of the best-selling products ever.
Sometimes our failure can be the basis for GREAT things.
Always remember this.
Today we will look at a story about failure, combination, and great success.
Let´s see the history behind the Post-it® notes
How do you connect the following dots? 👇
🌎 Research ←→ Chorus ←→ Paper ←→ Removable adhesive
How many Post-it™️ notes have you seen or used?
I guess hundreds of them, or maybe thousands.
Millions of boards, walls, and windows have been covered by these colorful pieces of paper, to discuss ideas and promote innovation.
A sticky note for learning about Innovation
Maybe it is not surprising to see a sticky note nowadays, but let´s look at it carefully to discover great insights into innovation, and how can we grow by connecting the dots.
First of all, let’s see the note to detect some inventions behind this blockbuster product.
Adhesive
The note itself as a system
2 patents in a sticky note
Let´s see at this square of paper carefully, to understand how can innovation happens inside a company.
Indeed, there are at least 2 patents related to this awesome product:
One for the adhesive, and the other for the sticky note itself.
First patent → → The adhesive was registered under US Patent No. 3691140 A (US3691140A), and the patent was given to Dr. Spencer Silver.
Of course, this invention is brilliant: sticky enough to stick an object lightly to surfaces and make it possible to remove it easily. But, it was discovered when Dr. Silver was looking for the opposite, a super strong adhesive that prevents any removal.
If you want to look at the details of this patent, just go directly to: https://patents.google.com/patent/US3691140
Second patent → → The sticky note itself was registered under US Patent No. 5,194,299 (US5194299A), given on March 16th, 1993 to Dr. Arthur Fry. ****
The spark of creativity was ignited when, in his choir rehearsals, he felt the need to glue his sheet music together.
Years later, he discovered that the adhesive created by Dr. Silver was part of the solution.
And to make a long story short, he created the solution that we know today as Post-it® notes.
If you are a curious person, go to this link and check the patent: https://suiter.com/patent-history-repositional-pressure-sensitive-adhesive-sheet-material-post-it-notes/
Recommended podcast: Do you love radio? Let´s listen to the history in NPR:
The right environment to ignite the creativity
I want to remark on the relevance of having a proper environment to nurture innovation.
3M is a company driven by innovation, and this special condition allowed them to create a tremendous hit with Post-it® notes
The real important thing is discovering how this invention was born at the 3M laboratories.
Let´s see a great summary of the mechanism 3M had to promote innovation and interactions between their employees at that time.
“Dr. Geoff Richardson, an executive at 3M, allowed his employees 15% of their working hours to dedicate to personal projects. Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry used that time to combine the sticky microspheres with the paper they had on hand, which was canary yellow scrap sheets. 3M loved the product and eventually became interested in selling it.”
This text was extracted from the article “Who Invented the Post-it Note? A History of Sticky Paper”, May 14th, 2021, written by Alyssa Mertes on the Qualitylogoproducts blog. You can see her profile on this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-mertes-83873416a/
🏅🏅 By the way, both scientists were inducted in 2010 to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, for their Post-it® notes invention:
https://www.invent.org/inductees/spencer-silver
https://www.invent.org/inductees/arthur-l-fry
It´s key to find a good name
Do you want to reach mass audiences with your solutions?
Let´s invest serious time and resources to find a great name. One that connects with your audiences and allows them to spread the word.
As you may see in the patent, the original name for this invention was Repositionable pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet material.
Better call them Post-it® notes
Let´s see how the process was:
- First people that used the product: 3M workers at headquarters.
- 3M launched the product as Press ‘n Peel in 4 cities.
- At Boise, Idaho, inhabitants said they would buy these sticky notes, and it was the expected signal.
- On April 6th, 1980, the product was available in US stores under their famous Post-it® name.
- and, the rest is history…
Post-it® notes facts and stats
- Every year 3M produces more than 50 billion Post-it notes.
- More than 40 years have passed since the first note was used.
- Of course, there is a digital version of the notes.
- However the origin was stuck to removability, nowadays there are 3M extreme notes for hard work conditions
- A Post-it® note traveled into “space” In fact, the note went 30 kilometers above Earth´s surfaces, which is not really considered space, but it´s a great word to describe it. a short video (50 seconds) of the experiment done in Australia: https://youtu.be/uCKQXdDdhIo
Funny fact: Did you know the origin of the 3M name❓
It comes from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Great material for other issues.
Combinatorial effects takeaways
Can you see it?
When humans connect the dots, amazing things happen.
Beyond the power of finding an application for a specific innovation, I want to highlight three additional points:
- Distribution is key to success: 3M had the network to expose the product to audiences across the US.
- Nurture Innovation at your company: Mr. Silver and Mr. Fry could combine their ideas to create this consumer product blockbuster.
- Innovation requires multidisciplinary teams to happen. We had seen scientists, operations, logistics, marketing, and sales, among others, involved in the process. And of course, the legal team for protecting the inventions.
Keep discovering combinatorial effects in our lives.
See you in the upcoming issues…
- “History Timeline: Post-it® Notes”, Post-it website, by 3M Corporation: https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/contact-us/about-us/
- “Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry, In search of an application”, an article was written by Claudia Flavell-While in The Chemical Engineer blog, 2018: https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/cewctw-spencer-silver-and-arthur-fry-in-search-of-an-application/
- “Art Fry & Spencer Silver Post-it® Notes Consumer Devices”, Lemelson – MIT: https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/art-fry-spencer-silver
- Spencer Silver Inductee page at the National Inventors Hall of Fame, NIHF website: https://www.invent.org/inductees/spencer-silver
- Arthur Fry Inductee page at the National Inventors Hall of Fame, NIHF website: https://www.invent.org/inductees/arthur-l-fry
- “3M history”, 3M website: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/about-3m/history/
- “Who Invented the Post-it Note? A History of Sticky Paper”, May 14th, 2021, written by Alyssa Mertes on the Qualitylogoproducts blog: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/promo-university/history-of-sticky-notes.htm
- Post-it® Notes mobile apps: https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/ideas/app/
- “An Idea That Stuck: How A Hymnal Bookmark Helped Inspire The Post-It Note”, NPR, 2019: https://www.npr.org/2014/07/26/335402996/an-idea-that-stuck-how-a-hymnal-bookmark-helped-inspire-the-post-it-note
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