Sitting on an Idea

Bill and Don did.

Bill and Don were hired to design furniture for seniors. Like any good designers they believed in problem solving over just making nicer looking designs … so they looked at how regular furniture was being used for unintended purposes. For example, hospitals used Lazy Boy chairs with seniors because they were easy to get in an out of.

So Bill and Don designed their own reclining chair they called Sarah. Everyone who tried Sarah loved it … but the furniture company was not convinced, as they weren’t sure how to sell it. So the company killed the Sarah chair. Bill and Don were so upset they left the company.

Years later they were enticed back by an intriguing offer … leverage the learnings from Sarah to create a new office chair instead. Their revolutionary design eliminated foam cushioning and would be a huge financial risk for the company. Eventually the CEO signed off.

Today the chair Bill and Don created has sold over 7 million units and inspired many copycats. It has been featured on TV shows like the Simpsons and celebrated as one of the best designs of the last 100 years. The Aeron Chair.

The Aeron Chair is a great idea because sitting on an idea until the time is right can make all the difference.