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Marshmallows
England are through to the quarter finals of the European Championships and sadly Holland didn’t make it out of the group stages. Sorry to remind you of that Jorrit.
Those of you who saw the game will appreciate that it wasn’t a stellar performance from England, but as they say in football ‘a win is a win’. A particular highlight for me was Wayne Rooney’s hair; nothing short of beautiful.
It’s no easy task being an England fan. It’s been over 40 years since England last won a major football championship, and each time one comes around we think it’s going to be our year. You have to admire that level of optimism.
In today’s society having to wait for something doesn’t tend to go down overly well.
‘We’re a little busy at the moment, I’ll bring your coffee over in 45 minutes sir’.
I don’t think so.
It’s all about the now, or the next thing. People want to be excited and we have perhaps forgotten how to wait.
Most lifestyle and fashion brands work to a minimum of 2 seasons – Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. It is not uncommon for brands to completely change their product range every season. Many brands even operate on 4-6 seasons per annum, with some high-street retailers producing as many as 30 collections every year. Naturally, these fast-fashion cycles have raised many debates over sustainability in recent years – a discussion I’ll spare you from this time.
At Millican we try to avoid the seasonal trap as much as possible. Our products are generally here to stay, although we can’t help tinkering with them. It’s a learning process for all of us and one we enjoy. We prefer to improve each product over time through gaining feedback from our customers.
The many phone calls and emails we receive from our customers are also often the starting point for new product development. Every year since our launch, we’ve steadily introduced 2-3 new Millican friends to the fold whenever we’re ready – always based on proven utility shapes, adding our signature-functionality and sustainable materials.
Adding extra functionality to Harry
This method of product design is referred to as Kaizen, a Japanese business philosophy which translates as ‘continuous improvement’.
I got thinking about waiting and patience from coming across this short clip from TED at the weekend. Joachim de Posada shares an experiment on delayed gratification and how it can predict future success.
Take a look, it will brighten your day.
Don’t eat the Marshmallow… Yet.
Let’s hope that it’s England’s time to eat the Marshmallow?
