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TAKE HOME EXAMINATION

<SEMESTER SEPTEMBER / TAHUN 2020>

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< ENGLISH WRITTEN FOR COMMUNICATION>

NO. MATRIKULASI : <860313125438002>

NO. KAD PENGNEALAN : <860313125438>
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PART A

2. Mahatma Gandhi once said “ Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and
what you do are in harmony”. Write an explanation essay of NOT be more than 700
words elaborating on the steps of being happy.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony”.
Mahatma Ghandi.
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive feelings from
contentment to intense joy.
Today, happiness is scientifically studied through rigorous studies of experimental, clinical
and positive psychology . Accordingly, happiness is defined as a emotional and positive life
experience regarding his own life.
According to American psychologist Martin Seligman humans seem happiest when
they have:

1. Pleasure (tasty foods, going out with friends, practice a sport etc.)
2. Engagement ( the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity),
3. Relationships (social ties have turned out to be extremely reliable indicator of
happiness),
4. Meaning (values we assume to ourselves and the community we belong to),
5. Accomplishments (having realized your goals).

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn
a life around. We all need each other.” Leo Buscaglia.

Happy people think differently, they interpret situations differently, they choose to
focus on the positive side of life. Here are some techniques in order to have a lifestyle that
creates happiness.

 Make peace with your past. If your past is something you are already satisfied by,
then it’s OK. If you are not satisfied by your past you need to make some
changes.Of course, is difficult to change the past. Forgive those who done

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something wrong to you; if it’s possible tell them this. Admit the mistakes you
made if it’s possible ask for forgiveness. Some people may not forgive you but
you will find comfort for making all you could do about it. At some moments in
life you were hurt by someone else, that person let you down. It’ normal to feel
the pain but sometimes that pain stays too long inside you, because it’ hard to
forget and forgive. This could cause you troubles, not only makes you unhappy,
but it also can ruin your current relationship, can distract you from your job
activities, your family, or can stop you to enjoy new events, new people. You are
stuck in a circle of anger and sadness and you could miss the beauty of life.
Forgiving can set you free.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Mahatma
Gandhi.

 Be optimistic about your future

“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of
inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned ; it enables a man to hold his head
high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”- Dietrich
Bonheoffer.

A pessimist believes that difficulties are beyond redress and doesn’t do anything in order to
fix them, he takes this lying down. A pessimist doesn’t involve.

A optimist has a plan at hand and he choose to believe that bad experiences can be overcome.
Optimists think that bad situation it’s challenge and try harder. They are not discouraged by
obstacles, they can see the positive side of a situation but also the negative side, they are
expecting the best. They make decisions and fight to solve the problems.
Not every form of optimism is good. You need to have a “realistic optimism”, in other words
an optimism controlled by rational, reasonable thinking, based on a logical support. In order
to be optimistic follow these steps:
1. Define your goals, corresponding with your culture, and personal environment;
2. Make plans to achieve these goals;
3. Put these plans in use in your life.

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Define your goals and write them down, once a month. If you are write them down
repeatedly, in time you‘ll get a better perception of you. Setting goals is also important
because it help you focus on the things that truly matters to you on the long term and it keeps
you on track; there are many factors that could distracted your attention:
television,internet,job duties.

 Enjoy the present moment. For instance, in the morning, when you are in the shower,
don’t think about your daily obligations. Enjoy the caress of warm water on your
skin, practice your attention. Stop from time to time over the things you’re doing in
order to have a better perception and accuracy.

 Maintain good relationships.

Your family and friends, your co-workers, even your neighbors, it’s important to
bond with them. Human contact is necessary for your emotional health. We all know
how good it’s when we hug somebody, we share experiences, smiles. It’s almost a
healing process when we share our worries, health or financial problems with
someone else.

Science has proved that even if you talk about your problem, sincerely, to someone close, it
helps.
“ A true friend is someone who is there for you when he ‘d rather be anywhere
else.”Len Wein.

 Be kind.
Happy people are kind and generous with the others. And they get a positive response,
usually. Help another human being and you’ll see his appreciation as well as the
positive impact it has on his live. For example ,give your seat in the bus to someone
else, do the shopping’s for your old neighbour,stop your car at the crossroad to let
people cross,when you go buy a coffee,at work,also buy another for your collegue. Be
a good giver and also a good receiver; accept help from someone else.

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 Be grateful.

Most of us we have a beautiful family,good friends we can rely on or someone we

love. Learn to appreciate this miracle. Most of us, we have a good health, we can
enjoy the sunset or sunrise by the simple fact we can actually see. It’s important be
grateful for all these. Every day, take time to show gratitude and thank to God or the
people you love.

 Listen relaxing music. Make a playlist or buy some CDs, I recommend the sounds of
nature, the ocean, Enya or classical music: Mozart, Vivaldi,etc. Music therapy has
many positives effects, it reduces anxiety, stress and fear.
 Listen to your heart and your inner voice. Do not let yourself influenced by other
people opinion, and by other dogma. Always listen your inner voice, your heart and
your intuition. Do not let someone else decide for you. Try what you really want to
try. Follow your intuition. Only this way you could be a free spirit.
 Seek for true love.
Searching for your life partner doesn’t mean you have to become the person your
partner wants to be. Act naturally and you’ll find a person who knows to appreciate
this. Choose your relationships wisely. It is preferable to be alone than finding
yourself in a bed company. Don’t push it, if something it’s destined to happen, it will
happen at the right time . Your heart has his own ways to find love. Love is beautiful
and can’t be predict. The best thing you can do for yourself is to become a remarkable
person. The universe will know when you are ready for love.
 Be a better person from all points of vue. Judy Garland used to say that it’s better to
be the best version of you than a second-hand version of somebody else. Power,
success and content come when you feel good in your skin.
 The new makes you feel better. American professor Gregory Berns has discovered a
brain area that influences our good mood. It’s activated every time you experience
something new. So, you can visit a new town, or take a picture class.
 Your work could be an important source of happiness. When you are working you
experience abandon, a magic state of concentration, which absorbs you, especially
when your work brings other people help and benefits.
 Choose what is useful for you. When you have to choose between more activities or
more shopping, save time and don’t cut a feather.

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 Eat right.
 You can grow your level of serotonin, the hormone of happiness, if you eat chocolate
or ice-cream. Long term contentment comes from healthy food, harmless for your
figure, such as : beans, cereals, eggs, cheese, fish, bananas, turkey.
 Work out.
Practice a sport three times a week, for thirty minutes, at least. After a half hour of
effort, your body produces the endorphins. The endorphins are chemicals naturally
released in the brain to reduce pain and which in large amounts can make you feel
relaxed or energetic. Practice jogging with your friends, or dance, volleyball. These
are occasions for you to establish social connections and make new friends.
 Plant a little cactus or a flower and take care of it.
 Cut to half the time you spent watching television.
 Allow yourself a little treat, for instance drink a glass of good wine, a cup of
chocolate with cream.
 Enjoy the beauty of the nature.
Take a walk through the park or plan a short trip, in week-end, with your friends and
family, to see the mountains or the ocean. Contemplate the beauty of the nature, learn
to appreciate it.
 Take a “special “bath.
Use pure essential oils, a drop in a hot bath diffuses fragrance throughout the water
and the air, transporting your bathing experience and leaving a subtle trace of
fragrance on your skin after.
 Smile and laugh more.
“Laughing is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in
one spot.” Josh Billings. Laughter is considered to be a powerful medicine by
many doctors. A good laugh can relax your body for almost an hour. It produces
endorphins, which, as I said, are the hormones that help us to feel good.  It
improves blood flow to the heart and lungs, and increases our immunity and even
helps us to resist infections. Laughter it’s also a good exercise for your body,
many muscles in your body are being exercised, such as diaphragm, face,
abdomen, chest/lungs and back, which improves the digestion process and it also
burns calories. Watch funny comedies on television. Listen to comedy audiotapes
while you are driving. Laughing is contagious; surround you by people in a good

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mood, who know to appreciate a good joke. You can also go to the cinema with a
friend to see a new comedy, laughing together could lead you to better
relationships. Don’t take yourself too seriously. People love to laugh. Humor can
make life happier.
 Practice a happiness affirmation, for instance: “I create the happiness in my life”,
repeat it for 30 days, consecutively, twice a day, when you wake up in the morning
and before you go to sleep. You can invent autosuggestion. Autosuggestion is the
power of mind over matter- if you convince yourself that you are happy, you‘ll be.
 Read happiness poems, inspirational stories or quotes about happiness. Go to the
library or to a bookstore, where you can find famous works of literature, in order to
“nurture “your soul. I choose two poems and I posted it at the end, for you.
 Practice meditation. A regular practice meditation it helps you to increase your well-
being, it brings you calm to your body and mind, it improves your vitality.

Four ordinary mistakes

1. Money makes happy only the people who has less, otherwise personal prosperity
can grow without your happiness can keep step with it.
2. Children are not a source of happiness, obligatory. Because their parents gave up
on many things that could make them happy, for the sake of their kids.Surveys showed that
kids brought happiness when they used to be babies or after they left home.
3. Your home is a source of happiness only if it’s big enough. Having a home it’s not
enough, most of the times, it’s more important to be more beautiful or a much larger house
than your neighbor’s.
4. Marriage brings a state of euphoria only for a short time before and after your
wedding. Then, after a while, your feelings get back to the same level they used to be before
your matrimony.

Positives attitudes
 Accept yourself the way you are, considering what can you change and improve.
 Get help. Don’t be a shame to seek for help when you feel you can’t get out of
troubles.
 When you are speaking to someone else be coherent, clear and succinct.
 In a conversation use good humor.

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 Be patient and tolerant toward others.
 Don’t spent much time thinking of problems, find solutions.
 Don’t envy happy people.

Negatives attitudes
 When you are often criticize someone else or even yourself that leads to pessimistic
mood.
 When you don’t have enough knowledge about someone that could cause jealousy or
misunderstandings.
 When you blame someone else, this could cause mental scars.
 A dialogue between two people can fail because of shouts, ironic phrases or half-truth
words.

3. The Human Resource department of your company would like to introduce a new
idea: flexible working hours. You are required to present a research proposal to present
the pros and cons of this new idea.

FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE

AN OVERVIEW

A system of flexible working hours gives employees some choice over the actual times they
work their contracted hours. Such a system can be a good way of recruiting and retaining
staff - since it provides an opportunity for employees to work hours consistent with their
other commitments (e.g. child care).

Most flexible working hours schemes have a period during the day when employees must be
present. This is known as "core time". A typical core time would be 10 00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

Other than the core time, employees may choose when they start and finish work within
flexible bands at the beginning and end of each day. These bands are typically 08:00–10:00
and 16:00–18:000. However, there is wide scope for variation depending on the core time,
the hours the work place is open and the nature of the business.

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Some schemes also have a flexible band during the middle of the day so that employees have
some choice over the time they take their lunch break.

Contracted hours (the total hours an employee must work according to their employment
contract) are achieved by employees working the core time plus hours of their choice during
the flexible bands over an agreed period. This period is known as the accounting period and
is typically four weeks long. Some schemes allow for an excess or deficit (within set limits)
to be carried over to the next accounting period. Hours are credited for absences such as
sickness or holidays.

DEFINATION

Flextime (or flextime, flexi-time, originally derived from the German word Glitziest which
literally means "sliding time") is a variable work schedule. In contrast to traditional work
arrangements requiring employees to work a standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day. Its invention is
usually credited to William Henning. Under flextime, there is typically a core period (of
approximately 50% of total working time/working day) of the day, when employees are
expected to be at work (for example, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.), while the rest of the
working day is "flextime", in which employees can choose when they work, subject to
achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours in the region of what the employer expects,
and subject to the necessary work being done.

A flextime policy allows staff to determine when they will work, while a flexplace policy
allows staff to determine where they will work.

INTRODUCTION OF FLEXI TIME TO ORGANIGATIONS

The introduction of a flexible working hours scheme requires care and needs to be carefully
planned by all those likely to be affected. Experience suggests that a joint "working party"
comprising representatives of management and employees is usually the best approach and
any recognized trade union should be fully involved. The working party should consider:

 Whether the scheme is to be voluntary or compulsory

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 What type of recording system should be used (eg manual, clocking or computerised)

 How flexibility should be built into the bands

 How sickness, absence and late attendance should be treated

 Arrangements for managing and monitoring the scheme (e.g. monitoring the effect on
production or customer service levels)

When the details have been agreed there should be a trial period of, perhaps, three months to
help identify and eliminate any problems.

Considering proposing a flexible work arrangement to employer

When you make your proposal to management, you'll want to cover several points, most of
which will address benefits, as well as barriers, for the company and how you'll handle them.
For example, how will you ensure that your new schedule won't be disruptive to workflow?
What sort of additional support or equipment might you need to make your new arrangement
work? How will the arrangement make you more valuable to the company than you are now?

But, before you begin answering these questions, you first need to understand the type of
work arrangement options that are available and which one will best suit your needs, as well
as that of your employer.

Get to know work arrangement options:

When employers talk about flexible work arrangements, they usually mean one of the
following:

 Flextime
 Job sharing
 Job splitting (work redesign)
 Telecommuting
 Voluntary reduced workload (part-time work)
 Daily or informal flexibility

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Here's what these terms mean to most companies.

Flextime

allows employees to work with their managers to set starting and quitting times. Some
workers arrive at work late and leave late; others arrive early and leave early. Manager and
employee agree on the schedule, which revolves around a set of core hours when the majority
of employees are at work.

The result: For the company, flextime can often mean better coverage, and it's a no-cost way
to improve employee morale. Flextime can also resolve scheduling conflicts and sharply
reduce lateness and absenteeism.

Job sharing

Divides the responsibilities of a full-time position between two part-time people. For this
arrangement to work, the two employees must have close communication and share a spirit of
cooperation. Each job sharer often works a three-day week, spending a day together during
midweek to catch up and make the transition seamless.

The result: Job sharing gives managers an opportunity to keep people who would otherwise
not be able to work. Having "two for the price of one" can mean more productivity and better
coverage, as job sharers can often cover for each other during vacations or personal
emergencies. The arrangement can also help the company recruit and retain skilled workers.

Job splitting

Or work redesign, redesigns the tasks in a job so that it fits staff and business needs. For
instance, tasks that can be done in isolation are assigned to a telecommuter, and duplicate
tasks are eliminated. One full-time job may become appropriate for two part timers. Two
employees may split a job, but they may work independently of each other.

The result: By looking at the tasks of a job in a new way, employees can better fit their skills
to the tasks to be performed. Job splitting may eliminate duplicate work, permit better use of
employees' skills, and enable more flexibility and more effective work distribution. It also

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attracts and retains high-quality employees by making employees' lives more livable while
the company achieves its business goals.

Telecommuting

Allows eligible employees to perform some of their work at home or at an alternative work
location. Telecommuting may be done part-time or full-time, but it is usually done part-time.

The result: telecommuting enables a company to hire those with disabilities who otherwise
could not work, widens the geographic pool of workers, and allows employees to better
handle their personal commitments. It often reduces occupancy and real estate expenses, and
it nearly always improves productivity as a result of fewer distractions. Grateful employees
are generally more committed — that is, more likely to go the extra mile.

Voluntary reduced workload

Or part-time work, allows employees to cut back both workload and hours either temporarily
or regularly. This option allows new mothers to return to work gradually and retirees to phase
out gradually. It can enable employees to complete their education or handle temporary
emergencies.

The result: Having the part-time option is proven to attract and retain talented employees
who want to work a reduced schedule, and it widens the pool of potential employees. At least
one study has shown part-time workers to be nearly as productive as their full-time
colleagues.

Daily or informal flexibility

means generally having control over your schedule. Managers focus on results or output
rather than the hours an employee works. Employee, manager, and colleagues work together
to ensure coverage and decide how the work will be completed, with customers and
performance always coming first.

The result: At least one study has found that daily flexibility has the most potential for
increasing employee satisfaction and retention. Daily flexibility creates a more considerate

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and respectful atmosphere, helps each employee work to full potential, retains high-quality
employees, and enhances employee satisfaction.

Advantages of Flexible Work Schedules for Employees

With flexible work schedules, employees experience these benefits:

 Flexibility to meet family needs, personal obligations, and life responsibilities

conveniently. If you have a flexible schedule, you can go to a parent-teacher
conference during the day, take a yoga class or be home when the washing machine
repair person comes.
 Reduced consumption of employee commuting time and fuel costs. In some areas,
commutes of more than an hour each way are not uncommon. If these employees are
allowed to work from home, that saves two hours of time, gas, and wear and tear on
the road. Not to mention, fewer people driving means it's easier for those people who
are commuting.
 Avoids traffic and the stresses of commuting during rush hours. You'd be amazed
at how much faster a commute can be if you have to be in the office at 10:00 instead
of 8:00.
 Increased feeling of personal control over schedule and work environment. One
reason people like to work for themselves is the control issue. By allowing employees
to determine their own schedule and work environment you appeal to the
entrepreneurial spirit - which can be good for your employees.
 Reduces employee burnout due to overload. Flexibility means employees can take
a break when they need it without incurring the wrath of a boss.
 Allows people to work when they accomplish most, feel freshest, and enjoy
working. (eg. morning person vs. night person). Many managers feel that earl birds
are hard workers and night owls are slackers. There's no evidence that that is the case
- it's simply cultural.
 Depending on the flexible work schedule chosen, may decrease external childcare
hours and costs. It needs to be clear that for all but a handful of jobs, working from
home still requires child care.
However, if a couple both have flexible schedules, mom can go into the office at 6:00
a.m. and dad can get the kids ready for school. Mom's 8 hour day is finished by 2:00 p.m.

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and she's there to meet the bus, while Dad starts his work day at 9:30 a.m. There result is
two full time jobs with no child care costs.

Advantages of Flexible Work Schedules for Employers

With flexible work schedules, employers experience these benefits:

 Increased employee morale, engagement, and commitment to the organization.

 Reduced absenteeism and tardiness.
 Increased ability to recruit outstanding employees.
 Reduced turnover of valued staff.
 Allows people to work when they accomplish most, feel freshest, and enjoy
working. (e.g. morning person vs. night person).
 Extended hours of operation for departments such as customer service.
 Develops image as an employer of choice with family friendly flexible work
schedules.
 There are also key organizational challenges you need to address to make flexible
work schedules support your business. In and of themselves, as a positive benefit for
employees, flexible work schedules support employee engagement, positive morale, and
retention. But, flexible work schedules must operate to meet the needs of the business, too.
See more about the challenges inherent in life and family friendly flexible work schedules.

Disadvantages of Flexible Schedules for Employees

 Employees that thrive in an office environment may find it difficult to work when

his colleagues don't hold the same schedule.
 Working from home can often make neighbors and friends think you aren't
actually working, thus causing problems with relationships. (Friends can become upset
when you say you can't watch their child, or let the repairman into their houses - because
after all, you're home all day.)
 There is no clear delineation between work and home. When we use “flexible”
schedules sometimes that means “work all the time.” If you boss allows you the flexibility to
go to to your child's soccer game, then the boss doesn't feel guilty about calling you at 9:30
pm

Disadvantages of Flexible Schedules for Employers

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 In team oriented departments, teams still need to meet, which requires some set
guidelines.
 Some people take advantage of flexibility and use that as an invitation to “work
from home” which really means watch Netflix with their email screen open.
 Some managers, who are used to seeing when their staff members come to work,
watching what staff do all day at work, and knowing when people leave for home, have
trouble adjusting to the new management style which requires trust.
 Office-oriented people sometimes view their work-at-home colleagues as
slackers because they can't physically see their productivity.
 Compressed work weeks can make client handovers complicated - clients expect
service 5 days a week during business hours and can be fussy when an employee isn't in on
Friday.

CONCLUSION

In this time of two-income households, flexible work hours make sense for responsible
employees. Flexible work hours breed trust on the part of both employee and employer, and a
sense of gratitude on the part of the employee.

A flexible schedule may work for an employee under the following conditions:

 If the employee has a job that doesn't require her presence at all times during normal
working hours, or if someone else can easily fill-in for her during the time she is
away,
 If the job responsibilities are more measured by results rather than by hours on the
clock,
 If the employee can work longer hours to make up for days off.

As is the case with most good employee programs, there are benefits to the employer as
well as the employee. These include:

 Happier and more loyal employees,

 Positive word of mouth about the company.

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 With appropriate scheduling, longer periods of overall coverage (without overtime)
which result from employees working longer hours during working days in exchange
for more days off.

In a good flexible arrangement, care should be taken to ensure that the expectations of
both parties are clear. It may be necessary to have the employee agree in writing to the
parameters of the flexible working arrangement. Some of the items to address include:

 Identification of particular times/days to be taken off.

 What happens during work weeks shortened by holidays?
 Who fills in while the employee is gone?

PART B

2. “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ― Thomas A.
Edison

We all know Thomas Edison as America’s great inventor, but CMOs should also view his
marketing genius with awe. Famous for inventing the light bulb and holding thousands of
patents, it was actually one of Edison’s early failures that taught him the vital relationship
between invention and marketing. In 1869 he patented an Electronic Vote Recorder to tally
votes in the Massachusetts state legislature faster and more accurately. To Edison’s
astonishment, it flopped. Edison had not taken into account legislators’ habits. They
don’t like to vote quickly and efficiently. They do like to lobby their fellow legislators to
promote their viewpoints as voting takes place. (Not much has changed in 140 years.) In
other words, Edison had a great idea, but he completely misunderstood the needs of his
potential customers.

Edison realized that marketing and invention must be joined at the hip. “Anything that won’t
sell, I don’t want to invent,” he said. “Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.” He

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realized he needed to put the customers’ needs first and tailor his thinking accordingly,
despite any temptation to invent for invention’s sake. This mindset paved the way for
tremendous marketing success. The six industries (and their offshoots) Edison pioneered
between 1873 and 1905 are estimated to be worth more than $1 trillion today.

In putting customers needs first, Edison became one of the world’s earliest market
researchers. He literally went to homes and places of work to analyze how people struggled
in order to gain the insight he needed to invent products that could help them do it better,
faster and more efficiently. He looked first for unmet needs and then applied science and
creativity to fill them. Perhaps the only time American industry has ever operated on a
concerted basis in this fashion was the period between 1939 and 1945, when the gathering
storm of world war and its reality concentrated the combined creativity of industry leaders
and consumers in a way it has not been seen before or since. Today, in trends like “marketing
to the bottom of the pyramid,” we see that the free world still has huge consumer needs to fill,
and Edison’s powerful approach can help us here as well.

The first example of Edison’s success using a “needs-first” approach to invention is one we
seldom associate with him: Document duplication. The inkling of pursuing invention work in
the insurance industry came to him while reading post-Civil War newspaper articles
documenting the re-building of the South, and the tremendous demand it created for
insurance policies. Edison got permission from insurance agents to watch their clerks at
work. He saw that most of their day was spent hand-copying documents for each party to the
insurance sale instead of selling insurance. Edison realized that if he could invent something
that would save both the insurance clerks and agents’ time writing, they could all make more
money. And who doesn’t like to make more money?

Edison’s first solution was the Edison Electric Pen and Press. Introduced in 1873, it could
make as many as 5,000 copies of a single document. A few years later, his second-generation
solution superseded the first by bringing a more automated process into play: The Edison
Mimeograph Machine. He sold the patent for the mimeograph to the A.B. Dick Company,
providing Edison money to invest in his new laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. The
mimeograph machine is familiar to anyone over age 40 who remembers that mysteriously
addicting smell emanating from the Principal’s office, where hundreds of take-home math
worksheets were printed using funky purple ink.

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In the marketing industry, Edison’s name and achievements are honored each year through
recognition of outstanding product innovations at the Edison Awards. It will come as no
surprise that Procter & Gamble took home the most Edison Awards in 2010 with five,
dominating the Consumer Packaged Goods category. P&G has always put customer needs
before “invention for invention’s sake.” Importantly, under the recently retired CEO, A.G.
Lafley, P&G adopted an “open-innovation” strategy that boosted its new product success rate
from a 10 percent to 50. “Open-Innovation” is one important cure for the “not invented here”
syndrome, which often blinds marketers to products that did not originate in their own R&D
departments. Open-Innovation allowed P&G to respond even faster to customer needs by
inviting the scientific community to compete with its internal development folks for minimal
financial investment. Mr. Lafley also received the 2010 Edison Achievement Award for his
significant contribution to innovation, marketing and human-centered design throughout his
career.

Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, the phonograph, the storage battery and moving
pictures, was also one of the greatest marketers of all time. Beyond his mastery of bringing
inspiration, perseverance and mental acuity to his work, he believed in the power of practical,
honest market research to spur product innovation. And he put customer needs first rather
than simply invent for invention’s sake.

Marketing success requires a quixotic blend of bravado and humility. Bravado in applying
creativity to developing and promoting the product; humility in submitting marketing
intellect to consumer research insights. The impact of having an Edison Best New Product
Award® bestowed upon your innovation can be tremendous, reaching well beyond
recognition by your peers and competitors and out into the world marketplace.

Marketers today seeking inspiration need look no further than the world-changing methods of
Thomas Edison. I invite you to go beyond the history books. Read Edison’s own notebooks,
written in his own hand — there are more than 3,000 of them archived at The Edison
Papers at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Edison’s legacy offers us a marketing road map
if we are intrepid enough to follow it.

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