Urgency Flow

To the best of my knowledge, the drive-up service window belonged to the banking industry before anybody else latched on to it. But it sure does account for a lot of the fast-food industry’s sales. It is also used by dry cleaners, beverage stores, video rental stores and florists. In Las Vegas, one casino has a drive-up betting window for sports bettors. There are probably others using it that I haven’t noticed and still others who could and should be using it.

Somebody in the fast-food business “stole” this idea. My vision is of a McDonald’s executive sitting in his car in the bank drive-through line on Friday afternoon when it hits him–”Hey, I don’t think we can fit the milkshakes in the little tube, but outside of that, this could work for us!”

Just about every great idea came from something already created or used. The enormously valuable Batman® franchise–made into money via blockbuster movies, cartoons, comic books and merchandise–exists because a couple guys borrowed pieces and parts from predecessor characters, notably The Shadow and Zorro. An entire genre of highly successful TV infomercials and direct-response commercials merely moved carnival, boardwalk, and country fair pitchmen and demonstrable products to television. QVC is a Tupperware® home party conducted on TV for a million people in their own living rooms–and Tupperware® is even sold on the home shopping channel. Fractional jet ownership came from timeshare real estate. On and on and on. Somewhere, right now, outside your business and its industry and industry norms, in an apparently unrelated business, lies the moveable idea that could revolutionize your profits. Read more

This article was originally published on entrepreneur.com