Positive constraints

A better life!

That's probably the best way to make anybody change. Make their life better. The tricky part is to understand what's better and what's worse.

A big car compared to a small car. Better or worse? Well if you look at the car from inside out I think most of us in fact think big cars are better. They are spacious and they are safe. But they are gas guzzling and if you live in downtown Milan, Paris, Madrid or another narrow European city they will significantly disable your mobility.

South European cities are "positive constraints" for fuel-effiency. Their ancient architecture creates a pitoresque feel, inspire people and it makes these cities so beautiful. But it does not allow big spacious cars. However, for its habitants, living in these cities is more important than driving big.

Other examples of positive constraints are laptops, cell phones and portable players - for power-saving. As long as we don't have better batteries the power-consumption must be more effective. In our home we don't care that much as long as the bill doesn't reach too nasty levels. But when we are on the move we care. Because mobility is more important than energy-consuming features.

So, the a killer question is: Which positive constraints can you use in your business?