The Idea Hunter

Hunting for the Next Great Idea

At the beginning of the 20th century, adventurers flocked to Canada’s northern regions to get rich in the fur trade. These pioneers saw how the region’s aboriginal inhabitants kept their food fresh during the winter: They buried their perishable foodstuffs in the snow.

In 1912, Clarence Birdseye was one of the members of a fur-trapping expedition. After learning how the locals froze their foods with snow, he became intrigued about adapting fast freezing as a way to preserve food for consumers in the United States. Over time, Birdseye perfected his freezing process and invented the frozen-food industry. Birds Eye became an iconic brand.

Birdseye did not seclude himself to come up with his frozen-foods idea. He got out in the world, and kept his eyes open and his mind alert. He observed a good idea and understood that by adapting it, he could revolutionize the food industry. Birdseye wasn’t a genius; he just took a usable idea and applied it to his goals.

In today’s information economy, great ideas have immense value. The people generating these great ideas are not necessarily brilliant. Rather, like Clarence Birdseye, they...