What If ...

A little more than one year ago I attended the Annual Meeting of the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance, which took place in Palm Springs. Jeff Tobe, the Coloring Outside the Lines Guy, was the keynote speaker. In his presentation Tobe challenges his audience to find ways to be more creative at work and to also look for ways to do things differently than they've done in the past ... to be able to give customers something they cannot find anywhere else.
Well, I was so impressed with Tobe's presentation I bought his book, "Coloring Outside the Lines," and also an audio presentation, as well.
This past week at work I started thinking about what drives me to be creative at my job ... what keeps me motivated. So while driving home I decided to listen to that audio presentation (it just happened to be in my car, you know). And while it was not exactly the same presentation from that meeting a year ago, much of it was. I listened again as Tobe posed the challenges to everyone listening to color outside the lines ... to push the limits a bit, if you will, but always with the caution: Color outside the lines, but don't fall of the page. In other words, know what your limits are as well as those of your customers.
The glass industry is constantly evolving. Thanks to technology, products have been created that not only look nice, but also "do" things: they can mitigate against impact, keep rooms cool or warm, change from clear to opaque, even clean itself. With all of these innovations, I started to think about about how creative companies in the glass industry can be. Think about it--at one time glass was just glass, and now look at what we have. According to Tobe, many great ideas come from two little words: what if? When I look at some of these glazing products, I like to think that, perhaps, many came to be while a group of people working together looked at glass and asked the question: What if? What if glass could clean itself? What if glass could go from clear to opaque? What if ... the list goes on.
At first glance, and to those who do not work in it, the glass industry may seem (dare I say it) boring. I disagree. I think it's exciting. I am constantly amazed at the developments that unfold, and these creations help me, too, to stay creative at what I do. I look at these products and at our industry and say "What if ..."