The Pickle Picker and Innovation by Maille
By Sara McGuyer • Mar 11th, 2010 • Category: Analysis, Loose EndsYou know those moments when you stumble upon a little innovation and wonder why no one thought of it before?
Let me explain. Have you ever noticed that it isn’t easy to get a pickle or olive out of an emptying jar without a utensil, or perhaps the unitasking pickle picker that Rachel Ray says, “sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it?” Yep. Who wants to add a unitasker into the kitchen anyway? So, we tip the jar and spill a little pickle juice (or do the sane thing and use a fork in the first place).
I bought a jar of cornichons recently, and discovered it came equipped with a small handled scoop. Nothing major, just a (hopefully recyclable?) bit of green plastic that made quick and easy work of extracting little gherkins out of the jar. Of course, it is just a jar of cornichons, and yet Maille has found a way to surprise and delight with a simple innovation.
Whatever your line of work is, think about the small stumbling blocks that make it harder to do business with you. Do you have barriers that make the experience a little less joyful, more awkward? Are there some ways you could change a small thing to make a big impression? Do you have a pickle picker on your hands?
Sara McGuyer is an account strategist with Wise Elephant and marketing director/board member for the Indianapolis International Film Festival. Find her on twitter http://twitter.com/sara_mc
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