When you’re knee-deep in a challenge, the natural instinct is to look within your own industry for a solution. It feels comfortable and familiar. After all, who understands your business better than your peers, right? But ironically, that’s often the very thing holding you back.
The most innovative solutions tend to emerge when we look sideways—into entirely different industries or disciplines where someone has already cracked a similar code. This approach, sometimes called “lateral innovation,” has led to some of the most revolutionary products and ideas in modern history.
Take James Dyson, for example. Long before he invented his iconic bagless vacuum cleaner, he spent time working in a sawmill. There, he noticed that they used a cyclone—or vortex—system to separate sawdust from the air without clogging filters. That insight eventually helped him design a vacuum that didn’t rely on bags at all. Instead of obsessing over vacuum-specific solutions, Dyson took a detour through industrial air filtration—and struck gold. (Dyson Innovation Story)
Or consider George de Mestral, the Swiss electrical engineer who invented Velcro. After walking his dog through the woods, he found burrs stubbornly clinging to his pet’s fur. Curious, he looked at them under a microscope and discovered tiny hooks that latched onto loops of fur. That accidental encounter with nature inspired one of the most versatile fastening systems we use today (Velcro History).
These aren’t just fun anecdotes—they’re evidence that stepping outside your bubble often leads to game-changing insights.
There’s a saying that goes something like, “Don’t look for your keys where the light is good—look where you dropped them.” Too often, businesses search for solutions in the places that are easy or convenient, not in the places that are most likely to yield results. This is especially true in industries prone to groupthink or dominated by “best practices” that haven’t evolved in decades.
If you’re stuck, try this:
Look at how unrelated industries solve similar problems.
Attend a conference outside your domain.
Read a trade magazine from a different sector.
Talk to someone who does a completely different job than you.
The magic often happens at the intersection of disciplines. For example, a restaurant struggling with staffing might find inspiration from the gig economy used in tech. A plumbing company might learn about dispatch efficiency from how airlines schedule flights. Or a retail store may reimagine its loyalty program by borrowing mechanics from video games.
Cross-industry innovation isn’t about copying and pasting—it’s about reinterpreting proven ideas in a new context.
So, what challenge are you facing in your business right now? And what if the answer isn’t in your industry at all—but waiting for you in a place you’ve never thought to look?
