James Dyson - Creativity and Innovation
James Dyson (1947- )
English inventor (pictured right) of the bagless vacuum cleaner (the Dual Cyclone),
first sold in 1993.
Another of his inventions was the ballbarrow (pictured right below), a wheelbarrow with a ball instead of a
wheel.
Why is he so creative?
1. Passionate purpose
He has always passionately pursued his desire to:
- make something that works brilliantly (function)
- then concentrate on making it beautiful ( what designers call
form).
2. Inspiration
The idea for the Dual Cyclone (pictured right) came from a visit to a saw mill near Bath
in England in 1978, which was using a huge cyclone (or cone), to spin off dust, not suck it in.
He rushed home and made the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner with a cardboard cyclone!
3. Persistence, patience and experimentation
Dyson believes in “constructive failure”, learning from failure and gradual change on
the road to success.
It took 5,127 prototypes and 15 years to make the Dual Cyclone.
He spent two years trying unsuccessfully to sell it to all the big producers like Hoover.
So he had to make it in his own factory in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
“An overnight success takes years of effort”, he says.
He was driven by:
- his father's death during his childhood (which forced him to be
self-reliant).
4. Risk taking and continuous improvement
He had to borrow millions to make his vacuum cleaner, and all his wealth is tied up in the
business.
Despite his $1 billion fortune, he still spends most days in his workshop:
- working on his next design.
- thinking how to improve his existing products.
For example, his new products include:
- the cylinder bagless cleaner (1995).
- a toilet hand dryer, the Airblade, pictured right (2006).
- a bladeless table fan, the Air Multiplier (2009).
5. Learning
He learns from
a) existing products
(things they do badly or not at all)
b) comments from his employees and customers
He only believes what he discovers not what people tell him.
c) his failures
(like his washing machine, the Contrarotator, pictured right, which was innovative but too
expensive).
6. Customer satisfaction
His vacuum cleaner has been a huge global success - why?
a) happy customers
Satisfying people’s needs better than competitors:
- efficiency and reliability.
- attractiveness and ease of use.
Dyson doesn’t totally rely on market
research, because it only tells him what customers want now, not what they might need
in the future.
b) knowing customers
The British vacuum market is split evenly between:
- uprights (which Americans prefer).
- cylinders (which the Japanese and Europeans like).
c) thinking global
Dyson sells in all the big world markets
The Japanese like pink and the Americans love
- ‘small guy beats big business’ image.
d) word of mouth
People telling each other about his vacuum cleaner has been its biggest sales booster.
e) advertising
(using the slogan “say goodbye to the bag”) .
f) after-sales service
His products are guaranteed and can be replaced within 24 hours.
g) style and design
People love his cleaner’s bright colours
In America it has become a fashion item, encouraging men to do the cleaning!
h) branding
The Dyson brand is cool and has appeared on the TV comedy, Friends (the cast is pictured
right in the first 1994 series).
i) novelty
His bagless cleaner was revolutionary and the first on the market.
j) combining different management skills
New product development involves:
- design and research and development (where Dyson spends most of
his money).
- marketing (using the excellent Dyson brand image - see above)
- production (his products are made in Malaysia and Singapore to reduce wage
costs).
7. Creative thinking
Like his hero, Isambard Kingdom
Brunel (pictured right), Dyson always:
- breaks unnecessary rules.
- challenges the status quo.
- seeks new and better ways of doing things.
- loves solving problems and overcoming failure (what he calls “living on the edge”).
8. Self-confident and tough
Dyson:
a) has always had total confidence in his products,
b) takes people to court for copying his inventions (to “defend what is yours”, he
says).
c) is tough enough to make difficult decisions (like transferring his factory to Malaysia in
2002).
9. Support
He has received vital help from:
- his wife, Deirdre, an artist.
- Lloyds Bank (which initially gave him a vital bank loan).
10. Picking and motivating good people
He recruits talented engineering and design graduates straight from university (to avoid
learning bad habits from other companies).
He improves their creativity by encouraging them to:
- make their own decisions.
- dress casually (no suits and ties!).
- discuss different ideas face-to-face (so memos are banned).
Key quote
on design
Good design is determined by good engineering.
Key quotes on
creativity
Experimenting and failing (on the key to invention).
Frustration is what motivates me. Frustration with things that don’t work properly.
Key quotes on
success
Hope is the most important element in success.
Success is made of 99 per cent failure.
Enjoy failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success.
Key quote on product
strategy
The product is the most important thing.
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