Dvorak was acclaimed during his lifetime as a great and popular composer. A big part of his success was due to the fact that he did his homework, finding out as much as he could about the audiences for which he would be writing. He would find out about the music people liked and disliked and explore the styles of music that were most prevalent and popular within the countries where his music was to be performed, and whilst he composed he would keep this information at the forefront of his mind.

More often than not the ultimate success of a new and innovative idea lies in the amount of awareness its creator has of the environment and context within which it will be introduced.

A good example of an invention that did not take account of context is the Sinclair C5, a very small single – seat electric car that positioned the driver low down towards the road surface and offered no protection from the vagaries of British weather. Unsurprisingly it did not catch on. It was an uncomfortable (and sometimes very damp!) way to travel and, more importantly, lorries had trouble seeing it because it was so small and low to the ground.

An example of an invention that did take account of the context within which it would be used was the clockwork radio. This was created with the specific needs of isolated African communities in mind. These communities had very little access to utilities, most relevantly electricity, so a way of keeping in touch with the wider population that used an alternative, accessible and easily maintained power source was likely to become very popular and successful.

When identifying new and innovative solutions to problems put significant effort into researching the context within which they need to be implemented. This will increase the chances of your ideas becoming valuable additions to people’s lives, rather than irrelevant eccentricities relegated to obscure footnotes within the annals of failed ideas.

To find out more about the author click Here.