Coach Kent’s Big Idea

So, as you remember, Coach Kent arrived at the office with an exciting announcement.

“I’ve had an epiphany!” he shouted.

Meanwhile, Ted was doing the moonwalk. It was the best moonwalk ever, and he knew that if he stopped he would never be able to start again.

Unfortunately, Coach Kent walked directly into Ted’s path.

This wouldn’t have been a problem, except that Ted was moonwalking at an unusually high speed, and could not course-correct. He knocked Coach Kent to the ground, then — tragically — he went down as well.

Ted was crushed. His inexplicably astonishing moonwalk… RUINED!

Derek, who was Ted’s moonwalk mentor, tried to demonstrate the move again, but it was no use. Ted was despondent.

Coach Kent was totally fed up. He stood on the table and cleared his throat. “We are NOT here for moonwalking, though admittedly that WAS one of your 2011 corporate goals,” he yelled.

He continued: “We are here to achieve success as a cross-functional, high-performing team!”

Then he paused dramatically.

“Who here has watched an infomercial?” he finally shouted.

Ted raised his hand. He had recently purchased 82 Snuggies for his dog, Mr. Bojangles.

Bob raised his hand and said that he, too, bought a Snuggie from an infomercial. It was a polka-dot one from the “Snuggie Designer” collection. He loved it, but it had been ruined by his crazy therapist/ski instructor, as loyal readers will recall.

Coach Kent was thrilled to hear about the Snuggies. “Yes!” he said. “Let’s use that as an example. Let’s say you purchase a Snuggie…”

“You are happy because it keeps you warm when you are feeling chill, and yet you can still read your book or use the remote control,” Coach Kent said. “HOWEVER, what if you sit outside a lot, and you are pestered by mosquitos? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Snuggie made out of…”

He thought for a moment, then yelled: “Made out of The Bugpatch, another infomercial product!”

“Combining these two infomercial ideas would lead to an even better idea,” he explained. “A Snuggie that repels bugs. This is what you need to do.”

There was silence. Everyone seemed confused. Should they buy a Snuggie? Should they buy The Bugpatch? How much was shipping and handling going to be?

Coach Kent could see he was not getting through. He sighed with frustration.

“LOOK,” he said, “What I’m telling you is that you need to review the infomercials out there. Look for products that stand out. Then find a way to combine one or more of the products to make a new, better product.”

“We will divide into two teams,” he said. “And we will develop and present our ideas. Hedger Corp will pursue the most brilliant idea. We are turning this compapny around, guys! Turning it around!!”

Coach Kent was excited and started pumping his fists all around. But no one else moved a muscle. They were not at all enthused; this just sounded like a bunch of work.

Reluctantly, they shuffled into two groups, with a Coach Kent energetically joining one of the teams to even out the number. And the planning began…

Next: Can multiple infomercial products be combined to create one game-changing idea? Find out this week as the teams pitch their ideas…