How To Breed An Innovative Business Idea — #31 of 31 Proven Skills [Research]
Skill #31 Buttress the Effect Against the Problem Cause
When tackling a problem, it is natural to examine its cause and explore the various ways in which it may be neutralized. Not so obvious is to focus on the effect of the problem. This innovative strategy can open up a number of ways in which the effect can be nullified, and the local circumstances ‘buttressed’ against its fallout
Among the many responsibilities that governments have on behalf of their constituents, keeping them safe is at the top of the list. Outside of war, this typically involves ensuring that citizens are protected from harm as they go about their lives. A common threat is the one that exists on streets and roads, simply because millions of vehicles are conveying people as they do life. Regulating such flows so that accidents are minimized is an ongoing challenge for the authorities.
One of the more problematic traffic challenges involves motorcycles because, unlike motor vehicles which have substantial size, the relatively smaller stature of motorbikes means that motorists, who have an awareness conditioned to the bulk of motor vehicles, frequently fail to notice their presence and collisions are the inevitable outcome. After exhausting regulatory options that might minimize car-motor bike crashes, a local authority decides to relax the noise regulations that apply to motorbikes. Their rationale is that if motorcycles make more noise, they are more likely to be noticed by a motorist because of that fact. Car-motorbike accidents decline as a result.
This example is a useful demonstration of Skill #31 Buttress the Effect Against the Problem Cause.
Skills #26 and #27 focus respectively on avoiding or preventing the effect of a problem. Although it also focuses on the effect of a problem, Skill #31, does neither of these. The problem and its effect follow their normal trajectory, but an innovative step is taken to ensure that the effect is, for want of a better description, ‘ineffective’. In essence, the effect is nullified and no longer has its usual impact.
All of these skills are part of a total of 31 personal innovative skills uncovered via research into thousands of successful business ideas.
Other Examples of Buttressing the Effects of Problems
A very relevant application for Skill #31 is where products or services have the potential to harm if they are not used exactly as intended. Sometimes it can be easier to nullify the consequences of the effect instead of trying to keep the cause in check. For instance, a horticulture operation partners with a lawn and turf supplier who fortifies its grass against weedkiller instead of reducing the effectiveness of the weedkiller or imposing impractical use instructions. In situations like this, buttressing can be a most satisfactory innovative solution.
Another situation calling for a Skill #31 treatment is when an organization must deal with an incident that threatens to be a public relations nightmare. Once public emotion has been stoked, it is extremely difficult to mount a legitimate defense and have it heard. Following an oil spill from a ship that was endangering local beaches, the owner announced that although he believed his organization was not responsible, he was going to act as if it was their fault. This unusually frank declaration was a pleasant surprise for the watching public who welcomed such an unvarnished response and effectively buttressed the operating establishment, protecting it from potentially devastating reputational damage. In fact, the company’s stock price went up rather than down.
Skill #31 Buttress the Effect Against the Problem Cause involves an approach that is distinctively different from the other skills that innovate through the problem being tackled. They all concentrate on dealing with the cause of the problem; Skill #31 is seemingly counter-intuitive in that addresses the effect and seeks to neutralize that through buttressing the situation that the effect threatens.
Takeaway
*Thousands of categorized innovative business ideas can be found at Sebir.com
