Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond

3.8. Lesson 20: The Limits of the Problem Approach

Edison welcomed problems because he understood that a problem always contains the seed of its own solution. As he saw it, each problem identified an unsatisfied need or set of needs and thereby prodded the inventor into creating a solution.

Case in point: In 1887, when Edison saw a demonstration of Alexander Graham Bell's version of the phonograph, the graphophone, he noted that Bell had solved several problems relating to the clarity of reproduced sound, but had introduced a new problem caused by the soft wax, called ozokerite, with which he coated his recording cylinders. Although an ozokerite recording was very clear on first playing, the recording surface quickly became dulled and the sound ...