Another Fine Idea
updated: Feb 12, 2010, 5:58 AM

By Lisa Burns

Sam Tyler shows us examples of excellence in his most recent film, "Three Big Ideas." Those who missed it at SBIFF can catch it on PBS in April. Sam took a retrospective look back to some of his prior films like "Good 2 Great" and "In Search of Excellence" pulling together clips of a young Steve Jobs just after he was asked to come back after an eleven-year hiatus, to a struggling Macintosh verses rival Bill Gates' DOS operating system. The year was 1980 and I didn't buy Apple stock because in the battle of the new guys, Apple looked weak against Microsoft's gorilla.

In "Three Big Ideas," Steve Jobs' big idea was to place Apple computers in schools, donating them in some cases, to create a market of young people who grew up learning the Apple operating system and embracing the brand. Steve Jobs found it is exciting to introduce a technology that opens all kinds of other avenues for people. He describes in the film as "planting a seed." Fast forward 30 years and Apple is my 16 year-old son's peers' overwhelming brand of choice.

Tyler's message-film is more relevant than ever in today's competitive world economy. China's moon is waxing due to shear numbers of people who have good ideas. The US could do better by rewarding good ideas; one of which is to embrace the concept of Sustainability. Tyler uses examples of US businesses that have found their niche through embracing environmentally sustainable practices - methods that use more renewable resources and fewer toxic ones.

For example, Tyler shows us a cleaning business that realized it didn't offer anything different from its competitors. Top management challenged their brightest employees to look all over the world for new ways of doing things - in this case, sanitizing linoleum floors in business establishments. Consider the number of hard plastic floors in retail establishments that have to be cleaned nearly every business night in the US with abrasive, toxic cleaning solvents used by human hands. Then think of using a machine that electrifies water into a fine ionized spray that lifts dirt through charged particles while sanitizing the floor. Not having to buy chemicals offsets the cost of the new machine. People are happier with the result and another problem is solved.

With a trio of films defining excellence, Sam Tyler captures many fine ideas for all of us to learn, share and be energized by.

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Lisa Burns writes Tyler Citizen McCaw examples excellence recent film Three Ideas screened Festival