Your Idea is Garbage!

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Arthur Schopenhauer

In the lead-up to the D-Day landings in Normandy, the Allies knew they would face a heavily fortified coastline, complete with land mines, barbed wire, and other obstacles. The traditional infantry and armor tactics would be too costly in terms of lives and equipment. Enter Major General Percy Hobart and his bizarre collection of modified tanks, famously known as "Hobart’s Funnies."

Hobart was tasked with developing specialized armored vehicles to tackle various military challenges during the amphibious landings. Initially, many of his ideas were considered laughable or outright garbage within the military establishment. His concepts included:

The Sherman Crab: A tank fitted with a rotating flail to beat the ground in front of it, detonating land mines safely ahead of the advancing troops.

The Duplex Drive (DD) Tank: Nicknamed "Donald Duck" tanks, these were Sherman tanks modified with waterproof canvas screens that allowed them to "swim" from ships to shore.

The AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers): These tanks were equipped with a large mortar spigot to destroy bunkers and other fortifications. They could also carry fascines (bundles of wood or similar material) to fill trenches or carry small bridges to lay across gaps.

The reception to Hobart’s proposals was mixed. Many high-ranking officials dismissed these ideas as impractical and a waste of resources—the "garbage" of military innovation. However, on D-Day, Hobart’s Funnies proved instrumental in the Allied operations. The Crab tanks cleared paths through minefields, the DD tanks provided critical support right from the water's edge, and the AVREs demolished obstacles that would have otherwise stalled the invasion. Their success dramatically reduced casualties and accelerated the Allied advance.

Hobart’s Funnies is a prime example of how undervalued ideas, initially seen as garbage, can prove extraordinarily effective. They underscore that in the vast, tangled garden of innovation, every groundbreaking idea starts as a seed—often a disregarded, unattractive, even "garbage" seed. Many will scoff at it, burying it under layers of skepticism and doubt. Yet, it's in these neglected seeds that the potential for the most radical, transformative growth lies.

The Art of Valuing the Worthless

Take the story of Spencer Silver and Art Fry, the inventors of the Post-it Note. Silver, a scientist at 3M, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a low-tack, reusable one. It was deemed a failure. Who needs an adhesive that doesn’t stick well? It was garbage, according to the books. However, when Fry, a colleague, used that same adhesive to keep his bookmarks in place in his hymnal, the idea of Post-it Notes was born. From garbage to a ubiquitous office product, the journey was unexpected but transformative.

Or consider the initial reception to digital music. When pioneers like Shawn Fanning created Napster, it was treated like digital garbage, a threat to the music industry. Yet, this "garbage" paved the way for iTunes, Spotify, and a revolution in how music is consumed and monetized, completely transforming the industry.

Innovation management is not just about generating ideas—it's about recognizing the potential in what appears worthless. Take Dyson vacuum cleaners. James Dyson’s idea of using cyclonic separation to suck up dust was initially rejected by every major manufacturer. They couldn’t see the value in reinventing the vacuum cleaner. Dyson, however, saw gold in his "garbage" idea, which eventually revolutionized the industry and made him a billionaire.

Another potent example is the concept of electric cars. In the early 1990s, when GM released the EV1, it was considered an impractical novelty. Fast forward to today, companies like Tesla have not only made electric vehicles desirable but are leading the charge toward sustainable transportation.

Cultivating a Garbage Garden

Here’s how you can cultivate these seeds into a flourishing garden of innovation:

1. Embrace the Garbage: Google encourages its employees to spend 20% of their time on side projects. Many of these projects may seem like garbage initially but have led to successful ventures like Gmail and AdSense.

2. Compost Your Failures: The Wright brothers’ early attempts at flight were less than stellar. Yet, each crash brought valuable lessons that eventually led them to the first successful powered flight. Their failures were not wasted; they were composted into success.

3. Recycle and Reuse: Netflix began as a DVD rental service, a response to the cumbersome late fees of traditional rental stores. As technology evolved, they pivoted to streaming, transforming the entire entertainment landscape. An old idea, adapted to new technology, led to industry leadership.

4. Challenge the Norm: Airbnb and Uber are prime examples of companies that challenged the norm. They looked at empty rooms and idle cars not as underutilized assets but as the foundation for a new economy—the sharing economy.

To Sum Up…

Managing innovation by valuing the "garbage" is uncomfortable. It pushes boundaries. However, it's also necessary. Our most pressing challenges—climate change, global health, and economic inequality—will not be solved by safe, conventional thinking. They demand radical innovation and a willingness to pursue uncharted paths.

So, the next time someone presents an idea and you think, "That's garbage," take a moment. That garbage might just be the seed of your next great innovation. After all, in a world striving for sustainability, shouldn’t our ideas be recycled, too?

Innovation is a messy, chaotic garden of the unwanted and overlooked. But with patience and insight, even the wildest, weirdest ideas can bloom into solutions that reshape the world.