Square Watermelon - Vamsi Gogoneni/bbm-98

Great article on finding a unique way to meet a market need, a customer focusedapproach and thinking out-of-the-box (or maybe in the box in this case!).Lessons of the Square WatermelonJapanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their UScounterparts and therefore don't have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round,wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores thatwatermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. That ishow I would assume the vast majority of people would respond. But some Japanesefarmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a squarewatermelon, they asked themselves, "How can we provide one?" It wasn't longbefore they invented the square watermelon.The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn't nearly as difficult tosolve for those who didn't assume the problem was impossible to begin with andsimply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is placethem into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on theshape of the box.This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was mucheasier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved thembecause they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller thanthose in the US meaning that the growers could charge a premium price for them.What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a fewlessons that can you can take away from this story which help you in all partsof your life. Here are a few of them:Don't Assume: The major problem was that most people had always seen roundwatermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons wereimpossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have beendoing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the roundwatermelon and you likely don't even take the time to consider if there isanother way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatlyimprove your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better waysto do things. This was one of the most difficult things for me to do becausemost of the assumptions I make, I don't even realize that I'm making them. Theyseem perfectly logical on the surface, so I have to constantly make an effort toquestion them.Question habits: The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question yourhabits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on aconsistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way thatyou live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out isusually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from variouspeople and places without even thinking about them. I have changed a largenumber of habits that I have had after taking the time to question them andcontinue to do so. Some of them I have noidea where they came from while others I can trace to certain people orinstances in my life. It's a never ending process, but by doing this, you canconsistently strive toward making all aspects of your life more enjoyableinstead of defaulting to what you have now.Be creative: When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution.This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed thisquestion likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alterwater melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process toaccomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however,the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in differentways in all portions of your life will help you find solutions to many problemswhere others can't see them. I am not a creative person, but I've found that themore that you look at things from different perspectives, the more creative Ihave become. It's a learned art and builds upon itself.Look for a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking abetter and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problemthey were having and asked if a solution was possible. It's impossible to find abetter way if you are never asking the question in the first place. I try to askif there is a better way of doing the things that I do and I constantly writedown the things I wish I could do (but currently can't) since these are usuallyhints about steps I need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, "Isthere a better way I could be doing this?" and you will find there often is.Impossibilities often aren't: If you begin with the notion that something isimpossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decideto see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial anderror.Take away the lessons from the square watermelons and apply them to all areas inyour life (work, finances, relationships, etc) and you will find that byconsistently applying them, you will constantly be improving all aspects of yourlife.