Getting a Good Idea to Take Off

To get these really innovative solutions, you’ve got to get these really outside the box ideas. What was the most crazy idea that you—that sounded crazy at first maybe that you guys have utilized or that you thought, wow, I wish I had come up with that myself or I mean, do you have an example of something that came from doing that?

Well, let me tell you the story of our electric vehicle charging setup for rapid deployment. Literally, a guy working in the EV field, you know, working on electric vehicle charging systems was sitting down at lunch with a buddy who’s working in the construction arena.
And the electric vehicle guy is going, “Ah, you know, people are going to need charging stations in parking lots and all of our equipment is built for indoors and we have no way, I just don’t know how we’re going to respond to this market need.”
And the fellow in the construction field said, “Wait a minute, we’ve just been working with a company who…” And lo and behold, the marriage was made and in less than six months, we went from an idea sketched out on a napkin to a commercial offering that’s rolling out now across the country.
Literally, the serendipity of two people sitting down next to each other over lunch. This is one of the most important reasons for getting back into workplaces. And I won’t say just one workplace because, you know, if you all keep going to the same office and talking to the same people, no big deal. But it’s being around other people, talking through challenges, sharing ideas that turn into real business opportunities.