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Ten Great Ideas Originally Rejected

May30



You cannot imagine which 10 great innovations originally were rejected …

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"I do not believe the introduction of motor-cars will ever affect the riding of horses."
Mr. Scott-Montague, MP, United Kingdom, 1903.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's Associates rejecting a proposal for investment in the radio, the 1920s.

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
H.M. Warner (Warner Brothers) before rejecting a proposal for movies with sound, 1927.

"This is typical Berlin hot air. The product is worthless." Letter sent by Heinrich Dreser, head of Bayer's Pharmacological Institute, rejecting Felix Hoffmann's invention of aspirin.

"Who the hell wants to copy a document on plain paper???" Rejection letter in 1940 to Chester Carlson, inventor of the XEROX machine.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." A Yale university professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Ken Olsen, President, Chairman and Founder of Digital Equipment Corp, 1977.

"You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life."
Rejection letter to Arthur Jones, who invented the Nautilus Fitness Machine.

"So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us?' And they said, 'No.' So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'"
Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computers.

Wishing you lots of success with your judgment on innovative ideas,

Gijs

By Gijs van Wulfen

Keywords: Creativity, Design Thinking, Innovation

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