Tired

In 1898 forty years after a certain Mr Goodyear patented vulcanised rubber, Frank Augustus Seiberling began the production of  an icon.

Whether it was an attempt to distance himself from his failed business, or his father’s businesses Frank settled on the name of the deceased Charles Goodyear and started a journey which was to prove incredibly timely. He was known as the “little Napoleon” of the rubber industry because of his small stature and his unremitting determination to succeed. He played a leading role in developing Akron from a small town into the “rubber capital of the world.

Charles Goodyear had patented this process at a time when there was no real market for it; the applications which were of a commercial nature were thin on the ground and he died never seeing the fruit of his labour. Perhaps his own words best describe how he felt about it all:

“In reflecting upon the past, as relates to these branches of industry, the writer is not disposed to repine, and say that he has planted, and others have gathered the fruits. The advantages of a career in life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents, as is too often done. Man has just cause for regret when he sows and no one reaps.

Two years after Goodyear was established in Akron Ohio, another gentleman entered the market in direct competition. For ten years Harvey Samuel Firestone had been making tires for buggys and carriages but, like his competition, saw the blossoming potential as automotives started to appear.

Both of these gentlemen had benefitted from the innovation of Henry Ford but it was to be Firestone who would steal a march in the race simultaneously moving to California with his friend Henry Ford as he opened his new plant.

It would be a fair summation of these businesses that they have successfully and indelibly carved out a place within popular culture and managed to build extremely profitable corporations.  Had it not been for the previous failures that forced a forty year old Frank Seiberling to buy an old warehouse and start again, Charles Goodyear would not be the household name he is today.

As is too often the case with the history of innovation, those who labour tirelessly to perfect the processes or products that they obsess over are seldom recompensed in their own lifetime.

We are too familiar with the dotcom millionaire and billionaire boys and aspire to replicate the success which they have found; but like tire manufacture it is largely down to timing. A great idea will remain just that if history isn’t ready for it; like Marty Mcfly riffing at the school dance, we will be met with bewildered stares from everyone we try to convince about what it is we see as the answer.

The problem that I have always read about in visionaries is that the majority of others just don’t get it; it is the blessing and curse of such people that they must learn to be patient while the ideas mature in the minds of others and they are ready to run with it.

A Pastor or business leader cannot expect to have one presentation of a vision for the future and expect that to be the final word on the matter. It takes years for people to assimilate an idea; but when they finally do get it, to hear your words being spoken through the mouth of another without your direct influence is the kind of reward Charles Goodyear spoke of.

The side note to all of this is that 318 million LEGO tires are produced each year, outstripping all competitors in tire production.

So just chill, and build your vision!