Peace's blog: Innovate with a smile

"Oova…oova.., mummy...oova "

It was one of those busy weeks. I can't believe it's Friday already, and a few things still unchecked on the to-do list. I woke up earlier than usual and went downstairs from about

5am to catch up, and get a head start on the day before the remaining residents wake up. My plan was to respond to the various permission slips for school trips and half term parties / play date invitations - dedicate thirty minutes to the laundry - and then another forty-five minutes to an hour reading over materials for a meeting later that day. However, from around 6:45am I was side-tracked with my 2 year old son's new found obsession with Henry the vacuum cleaner. It's a sort of strange infatuation, whereby he can't seem to stay away from the vacuum cleaner, but at the same time seems to run away when it is switched on. It was interesting to observe that he could keep himself entertained with Henry for up to forty minutes. Whenever I glance over at him now and again, he looked preoccupied with taking the hose apart and then connecting it back again, he would tentatively attempt to switch it on but also back step simultaneously. As I worked, I couldn't help but be amused. From about 7am his older sister had joined us. In the spirit of teamwork he asks her to hold the top end while he supports from the lower end. However, in her mischief she switches it on and he runs off, but then starts approaching again. If only I'd known all the times before, where I tried really hard to keep him entertained, especially when he wanted to go out to the garden at 6am, that all I needed to do was to bring out the vacuum cleaner. As I became more intrigued about his obsession I decided to .......yes you guessed it.

I consulted Google to check whether there is a condition or phase called "toddler obsession with the hoover". Surprisingly, a few hits came up. I clicked unto a YouTube link, only to find Henry Hoover had his own social media following and fan base, with some videos having over a million views on the "Fun vacuum cleaner movie for kids" channel. Yes, over 1 million views!. I watched a funny video whereby Hetty surprises Henry about her pregnancy announcement. Hetty eventually gave birth to a 'bundle of legos'. Five videos later and side-tracked from my meeting prep, I finally came to my senses when my hubby asked why I'm watching Henry Hoover videos. After briefing him on the events that led up to this 'madness', as he picked our son to go and get him ready for nursery, he says, "I always wondered about the smiley face on the hoover, that's probably the attraction for children". My curiosity peaked after this comment as naturally I wanted to know why Henry the Hoover had a 'smile on'. This curiosity exposed me to one of the greatest innovations that has been right under my nose all this time. Literally. A smile, under my nose. On my journey to Somerset via Google to learn about the innovation of Henry Hoover, I learnt that:

'Henry came into the world in the Beaminster, Dorset factory in 1981. Ever since he was first introduced into the vacuum market, Henry has brought domestic joy to the lives of over a million people – a superlative achievement and a popularity that hasn’t declined.'

Who would have thought that by 7:35am I'd have learnt first-hand, the fundamentals of innovation. Sometimes the key to 'doing something better' is to do it with a smile, or in other words with a positive attitude. It seems no matter how much work Henry the Hoover has to do, he always does it with a smile. Perhaps this is the solution for all grunt work. Maybe the next big domestic innovation will be to put a smiley face on the iron.

Nonetheless, I suppose the takeaway for me is that we can all be innovative if we find ways to do something better, and sometimes all we need is a positive approach to put a "smile on" our audience or consumers.

Twenty-five frantic minutes later, I'm on the train after dropping the kids off at nursery and school, and managed to get on the 8:12am train just before the doors closed. Oblivious to the other commuters why I'm smiling, I reflect on my innovation fuelled morning, as I add the last paragraph to this blog.

No matter how much work I have ahead of me today, I'm going to try to approach it with a positive attitude and some creativity!

Thank you Henry Hoover, for putting a "smile on" it :).

Peace is a proud working mother with a hands on and supportive husband also in the city, together they have "almost achieved" a work-life-work balance with their children all under 9 years old. She has worked in the City for 14 years full time, mostly in investment banking, recently as Head of Operational Risk for a leading Insurer, and now as a Senior Manager in Risk for a leading Investment management firm. 

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