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

6.5. Lesson 52: Niche Thinking: Find a Small Space to Make It Big

Edison's fame rests on his handful of inventions that transformed civilization: the incandescent electric light, together with systems of power generation and distribution; the phonograph; the improved telephone transmitter; the technology of motion pictures. This is understandable. The larger the arena, the greater the renown. But the vast majority of Edison's thousand-plus patents were for inventions and innovations that hardly aspired to tread the world stage. Most of what Edison patented were highly specialized creations for the niches of technology, including the very niches Edison himself had created. Not only did Thomas Edison produce such niche inventions and innovations ...