Sep

Three Innovation Awards for Sept. 2009

Dave on September 2nd, 2009

We become what we think about. To spur thinking about innovation as a normal, everyday part of doing business, I’m debuting Three Innovation Awards as a new monthly feature. (Suggestions for future awards are welcome.)

“…the only band literally directed by an ass.”
Each August, Elvis Presley fans mark the anniversary of his passing. Presley’s fusion of country with rhythm and blues was a musical innovation of historic proportions; however, my first Innovation Award goes — not to Presley — but to his first drummer, D. J. Fontana. In a radio interview I caught this month, Fontana explained that Presley’s original band was just a guitarist and bassist — drums were looked upon suspiciously by country audiences. When he first met Presley, Fontana was the house drummer for The Louisiana Hayride radio program and a journeyman who had played many genres and venues including burlesque shows where strippers were known to want drummers to mark every bump, grind, twist, and turn. Not wanting to overshadow Presley’s voice or stage presence, Fontana initially took a “less is more” approach until one day he began marking Presley’s moves with the drum accents he’d learned in burlesque. Cross-pollinating is the backstory to countless innovations. Fontana’s helped create a legend!

“…just a good time overall.” [The Farm Bar & Grill, Essex, MA]
Can you imagine a worst month to open a new restaurant than April 2009? Yet The Farm has been busy until after midnight every night since. the farm restaurant sq Three Innovation Awards for Sept. 2009 What’s more: over the past 20 years five previous restaurants have failed in the same location! The Farm is a feel-good story about three first-time entrepreneurs asking two simple questions and getting the answers stunningly right! “What can I do really well?” asked chef/entrepreneur Ryan. Ribs and pulled pork are his forte and became the foundation of the menu and concept. “What kind of place would we go to?” asked the trio. A friendly, fun place with great comfort food, they decided… but really fresh ingredients… and affordable. The trio’s innovation is an informal gathering place where friends (and young families) can meet, mingle, and unwind. The large backyard — ignored by the earlier restaurants — is now alive with barbeque, Red Sox games, picnic tables, volleyball, horseshoes, and children having fun with their parents and each other. The whole thing feels like a beach party! Now, with the instincts of natural entrepreneurs, the trio is “plussing” their product with the help of a large white board of new ideas and an adherence to a brand standard they call “Farm quality.”

“Solar power meets consumer power.” [One Block Off the Grid]
One Block Off the Grid (1BOG is its nickname and url) is one of those business models that is so simple yet savvy that it could be widely replicated. Group purchasing power and an array of old-world and new-world organizing methods are combined to recruit groups of homeowners and partner with them to install over 13,000 solar panel systems in just a few years. 1BOG researches the best products and firms in the solar panel industry, negotiates a volume discount with a preferred installer in cities across the country, then guides engineering, purchasing, and installing for each homeowner. The installer pays a referral fee to 1BOG while the service is free for homeowners who would otherwise face a steep learning curve and higher prices. 1BOG is an innovation of market creation: on the supply side, they research and make sense of all the technical, financial, legal, and industry factors implicit in a complex, rapidly changing technology like photovoltaics. At the same time, they create market demand by organizing consumers, simplifying the buying decision, reducing risk, and lowering the cost to homeowners.