What office supply can you not live without? Your answer is probably the same as mine, the Post-it Note. Art Fry explains how he brought this ‘new to the world’ product to market with Dr. Spencer Silver’s adhesive help and created a whole new way of how we communicate!

Art was working at 3M for 21 years before the idea surfaced of the Post-it® Note in 1974 using an adhesive that was invented in 1968. Experimenting, selling management on the idea, pulling ad hoc teams together, test marketing, and lots of other activities led to its national release in 1980. (3M: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company; a company culture of innovation) Download 

To be around Art is to engage in the joy of ‘working under a streetlamp.’ The street is illuminated. Somebody goes out into the darkness and drags an idea into the circle of light that is new product development; that is the mind of Art Fry at work. He is one of the most brilliant intrapreneurial inventors and chemists of our time.

F.Y.I. On July 24, 2018 3M’s market cap was $119.9 billion (total dollar marketing amount of outstanding shares). They produced 55,000 items with 91,000 employees worldwide in 2017.

“If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give the people the room they need.”
— William L. McKnight

Mentoring Tips

After listening to our conversation:

• Ask yourself, how can I create a culture of innovation at work and at home?
  • What parameters would I need to put in place for employees, so they can invest time and energy in creating new ideas on a regular basis for end-users?
  • At home, what are ways I can foster creativity and experimentation with new ideas that would help society?
    • For example, when the three of us volunteer, we each plug into a role. This turned into a bigger deal than we thought when we volunteered to run the Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion Elementary School Chess Club. We grew the club from 45 students to 180. Matthew and I divvied up our roles, Olivia (our daughter) played chess and then helped teach chess to others. We organized a team of coaches, taught, organized the operation, and worked with the school, parents, and district administration to spread the benefits of playing chess and pass on something fantastic for children. You can start with a much smaller idea, but I think you get my point.
• Growing a business is challenging. Why not grow yourself as you grow your business? Join a WeMentor Entrepreneurial Leadership and Mentoring LAB! Become the leader you have always envisioned yourself to be, Join HERE!
• Subscribe to this podcast. You get special discounts on WeMentor activities, especially one-on-one mentoring. Subscribe HERE!

Arthur Fry, Inventor of 3M’s Post-it Note, Part I      Episode 143