Standing on a mountain of value

We're often standing on a mountain of value, but don't yet see it.

In the early 1990s, a small team of engineers at W. L. Gore & Associates were tasked with finding a way to make the cables driving Disney’s animatronics frictionless, so the robots they controlled could move with the fluid, lifelike motion of real creatures.

They solved this challenge by applying a thin polymer-based coating to the cables which made them glide smoothly and effortlessly.

One of the engineers on the team was also a guitar player.

He wondered if the polymer coating would improve the quality of guitar strings he was using. So he tried it out.

He discovered the polymer coating not only made his guitar playing smoother by reducing finger friction on the strings, it also kept them sounding ‘like new’ far longer. A huge benefit.

This new idea led to the creation of Elixir guitar strings which is now one of the leading brands sold worldwide.

One solution, mountains of value.

When you’re stuck with a problem to find new growth, look around at what you have and ask yourself: “What could we put to another use?” Or, “What’s similar about what we have that could solve another problem somewhere else.”