Did You Know This About The Genius Behind IKEA ?
Did You Know This About The Genius Behind IKEA ?
How Thinking Outside The Box Transformed IKEA
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Ingvar Kamprad was born on 30 March 1926 in Småland, Sweden.
At the young age of 17, he founded IKEA, initially selling pens and wallets.
He slowly introduced more items, eventually introducing furniture too.
When he was 27, IKEA adopted the flatpack concept, revolutionising furniture assembly and
transport.
At 34, he introduced the first IKEA restaurant within a store, selling the well-known hotdogs.
Two decades after he started IKEA, he finally opened the first store in another country — Norway.
Expansion followed for most countries shortly after.
At 72, he stepped down as CEO, and co-wrote a book on his roots and the strategies that turned IKEA into the giant it became.
He departed this world at 91, on January 27, 2018.
One Lesson from Ingvar Kamprad
Think outside the box.
Before flat-backs were introduced, shipping furniture was an expensive and difficult matter.
Ingvar’s stroke of genius was to think outside the box.
Instead of shipping bulky, pre-assembled furniture, he revolutionised the industry by designing furniture that could be disassembled into flat packs, therefore reducing shipping costs and storage space.
Thinking outside the box means challenging the usual methods and seeking innovative solutions.
If you do not ask yourself “What if?” and “Is there a quicker / better way?” — you will never get ahead.
We see this all the time in different industries. People like to do things their way and do not like change. That is verydangerous.
That is exactly what made companies like Kodak and Blockbusters go bankrupt.
To quote Steve Jobs — “Stay Young, Stay Foolish.’
Until Next Friday,
The Chronicler.
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