Ship Ice to India??
Frederic Tudor, a 19th century Bostonian, had crazy idea. He started shipping blocks of ice from New England lakes to the West Indies in 1806. In the 1830s he packed a ship with ice and shipped it around the world to Calcutta, India.
Just imagine loading a sailing ship with well over a hundred tons of ice (packed in sawdust from Maine limber mills) and sending it on a four-month journey of 16,000 miles. Now imagine sitting Calcutta and receiving the one hundred tons that survived the journey. Suddenly cool drinks and even ice cream were possible in the tropical heat. Would you want more? Would you be willing to pay for frozen water?
Was this a one-time stunt? Hardly! For the next fifty years Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras eagerly awaited their regular supplies of New England Ice.
Lesson
Know what your customers value and use the best technology (like saw dust, ice saws, and sailing ships) to give it to them.
Application
Identify the technologies you use to service customers or clients. Are you leading or lagging their needs?
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