How to become an industry leader by thinking like Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison

The aura of Edison is reflective of his awesomeness. In his quest to achieve success in every field, he advocated two principles –hard-work and the unwillingness to take anything for granted.

And, today, the word ‘Thomas Edison’ is a metaphor used to describe clever and intelligent people.

If ‘Thomas Edison were an old wine, you would uncork the bottle, drink the wine and savor the flavor till the end of life – because you want to think like a person who impacted your understanding of the world in which you live.

So, is it that difficult to think like Edison?

No!

All you need is a simple, but effective thinking process.

1) Find the right problem

Greatness lies not in finding the perfect solution to the problem, but in the right problem. There is nothing wrong with aiming for the impossible, but never look back at the impossible to solve your problems. Choose enabling problems to increase the horizon of the imaginative solutions. For example, a disabling problem would be achieving 0% defect rate in manufacturing of electrical product. But, an enabling problem would be shipping non-faulty products to the customers. Therefore, find the right problem to give wings to your thinking process.

2) Focus on visualization

When Edison came across any problem, he used pictures and diagrams to formulate the possible solution of the problem. He always stressed on visualizing the solutions because number and words are insignificant to spark the thinking process. Visualization is the key to sharpen the thinking process and necessary to reach new heights.

3) Break the norms

All of us hate to go an extra mile to achieve our goal because humans hate coming out of their comfort zone. Thomas Edison on the other hand, loved taking challenges and was particularly inclined towards ridiculous ideas. When you break the norms, your mind automatically generates new and breakthrough ideas.

In short, when you get comfortable with something you’re initially uncomfortable, you reach new heights.

4) Grow the solution

It took Edison 1,000 unsuccessful attempts to invent the light bulb. If you’re not finding a solution, grow it and ask others to prove it wrong. However, just like Edison, it will require patience, preparation, and perseverance. Cultivate and nurture the solution before presenting it to the world

Thomas earnestly asks everyone to become innovators and not solution superstars. We at Robycs Technology are focused on finding a systematic and deliberate way to find the right solution for your machinery and manufacturing needs.