Jun 25, 2007
James Dyson: The Engineer’s Marketer
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Sir James Dyson is one of John Kearon’s heroes. Both are entrepreneurs. And both believe passionately in the power of supreme engineering innovation to deliver progress. So when the opportunity came up to have a chat with Iain Carruthers, brand consultant and now second time author, this time of an authorised biography of Sir James, we jumped at the chance to get the two Dyson aficionados in conversation. Iain’s managed to pull together a fascinating series of insights that should appeal to entrepreneurs and brand marketers alike. Once you’ve heard this, dive into the book: Great Brand Stories: Dyson
Listen to other podcasts featuring John
STARRING
- Iain Carruthers, Author, Great Brand Stories: Dyson, and Founder, Encounter Business
- John Kearon, Chief Juicer, BrainJuicer
Timeline [33m09s]
00m00s Intro.
01m35s Genesis of the biography.
02m28s Dyson, an engineer shaped by a bygone era.
03m03s A self-confessed misfit.
03m51s The consumate marketer.
05m44s The productive narcissist.
08m31s Working with Dyson.
11m48s Meeting Dyson.
12m58s Evaluating new inventions.
15m01s The washing machine that didn’t succeed.
15m19s The killer Dyson experience.
16m28s The see-through housing: vanity or functional?
17m53s Different markets, different perceptions of Dyson.
19m50s Failure is essential – “the heroes journey”.
21m28s David vs Goliath battles.
22m07s Dyson’s current motivations.
24m00s The Dyson School – beyond philanthropy.
24m53s Engineering depth vs. marketing superficiality.
27m59s Defying collective wisdom – the Airblade.
29m14s Iain’s advice to Sir James.
30m18s Dyson: soulness advertising, but products that inspire emotion.
31m19s Who to battle when you’re now the Goliath.
31m46s The recipe for entrepreneurial success.
Notable Mentions
Apple.
Brunel.
Edison.
Entrepreneurism.
Innovation.
Mark Earls.
Martin McCourt (Dyson).
Russell Davies.
Spinning Jenny.
Steve Jobs.
Will Whitehorn (Virgin).
Quotes (Iain)
“I wanted to find out about whether they could become more than a one product company.”
“He talks about himself as a bit of a misfit but actually that powers what he does…and he’s a bit paranoid frankly.”
“The senior team at Dyson, one of their main jobs is to manage the company’s expectations of the founder and vice versa.”
“The whole thing about a productive narcissist, as opposed to just a narcissist, is that a productive narcissist understands when he needs the right kind of people around him.”
“They make things that spin very, very fast, and actually that’s what the business is like…the whole place is precious but very fragile.”
“The quality of their belief is quite enchanting.”
“…they kind of pretend that people buy it because of the technology…but people are buying it because they are copying everbody else…and Dyson absolutely hate that.”
“He’s really fighting for the company’s right, through patents, to be seen as the inventor…that’s why the business almost went to the wall.”
“What the advertising at the moment doesn’t do is promote conversation. And of course conversation is what leads to copying, which is what leads to product take up.”
Music Theatrimus and The Blue Mile from the PMN
Thanks to MrWeb.com for sponsoring this podcast, and to Jo Bowman, freelance media and marketing journalist, for her dulcet tones in the intro and outro.
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