Connections You Can’t Shoot Down
Have you ever heard of Abraham Wald? Well, you’re about to.
Wald was a Hungarian mathematician whose work during the Second World War saved the lives of many Allied pilots and inspired decades of decision-making.
Allied planes kept returning from their missions riddled with bullet holes in the exact same spots. Every single time. This was obviously cause for concern and it stood to reason, by traditional thinking, that these spots were vulnerable and needed more armour.
Wald disagreed.
He realised that the most important thing about these aircraft was that they’d made it home safely. Clearly, the planes were able to sustain fire in those spots without serious consequences. So, he shifted his focus to the planes that didn’t make it back – and deduced that they must be being hit in the areas untouched on the safely returned aircraft. It was – counter-intuitively – the untouched areas that needed more armour.
Wald had refused to settle for the obvious answer. He set aside his biases, shifted his perspective, and saved countless lives, planes, dollars, and pounds.
And that’s what creativity is all about. Looking sideways. Seeing what’s right in front of you, that nobody’s quite put their finger on yet.
Logical thinking says we should focus on our strengths and play down our weaknesses, but taking such a blinkered approach can mean missing out on opportunities. Opportunities disguised as weaknesses.
A classic example is Guinness reframing the time it takes to pour the perfect pint – from a minor inconvenience to a major part of the drinking experience. What could be a mind-numbing minute, watching a drink slowly settle, is instead a ritual. ‘Good things come to those who wait’ they say. A brand line and ethos that has now underpinned decades of iconic design and advertising.
Stepping back allows us to see connections that we’d previously missed. Connections that seem glaringly obvious once you spot them.
A few years ago, online reviews for scented candles plummeted. Across the board, every brand, every candle, the reviews were tanking. They all said the same thing – “The candles don’t smell of anything.” It was a mystery. Why had ‘Big Candle’ done this to us? Why were they withholding the autumnal pumpkin patches and summer sea breezes from us?
As it transpires, the reason we couldn’t smell our candles had nothing to do with the candlemakers. It was early 2020, millions of people unknowingly had Covid, and one of the yet-to-be-discovered symptoms? You guessed it, losing your sense of smell.
So, remember to keep an eye, or even a nose, out for unexpected links and half-hidden opportunities. The world is full of serendipity and connections.
Just six years after the war, the great Abraham Wald lost his life in a plane crash. It was a cruel twist of fate, but we’re sure he’ll take a great deal of comfort that at least he wasn’t shot down.
StudioLR is the creative agency that believes in guts. We’ve been grabbing people’s insides and making them interesting since 2004. If you liked this blog, you might like this one about how the truth comes with ugly bits.