The intention

The intention was to develop a very strong adhesive for various applications within the company 3M…

The approach

3M researcher Dr. Spence Silver developed a type of glue consisting of very small sticky balls based on the idea that this technique would result in an extra strong bond..

The result

Because only a small surface of these glue balls makes contact with a flat surface, this gives a layer that sticks well and is still easy to peel off.. The result suggested Dr. Spence disappoints. The new adhesive was even weaker than what 3M had developed so far. 3M stopped further investments in this technology.

The lessons

4 years later, a 3M colleague of Dr. Spence called Art Fry frustrated with the bookmarks that kept falling out of his choirbook. In a moment of Eureka, he came up with the idea to use Silver's adhesive to make a reliable bookmark. The idea for the post-it application was born.

In 1981, one year after the introduction of Post-it® Notes, the product was named Outstanding New Product. In addition to the 'classic' Post-it sticky notes, several other products followed in the Post-it range.

Further:
Many brilliant failures arise according to the Post-it principle. The 'inventor' is working on one thing and accidentally arrives at a completely different result. This phenomenon is called 'Serendipity' in English. Popularly said: 'You are, as it were, looking for a needle in a haystack and know where to find the pretty farmer's daughter'.

For those who achieved the surprising result but was actually looking for something else, it is often difficult to immediately see a new application or value in the 'failure'. Some do have this ability.

Sometimes, like in the Post-it case, it takes others to see new applications because they are looking for a solution to a completely different problem. Or because they take a fresh look at the unintended result from a completely different perspective.

Author: Bas Ruyssenaars

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