Have you ever used a microwave oven? The technology evolved from radar detection of planes during WW II. Prior to this time period no one really knew where planes were until they heard them overhead. The defense department in the England could see the German war production was increasing and eventually those planes would be turned on their country. The Ministry sent out a proposal to zap the pilots when they came across. We still cannot do that except in the comic books, however one person can up with the idea of trying to detect the planes – the analogy used was tying a string between 2 trees with bells on it and it and when something touched the string you could hear it. The theory was if planes could be detected 20 minutes flying time before they reached the border that was enough time to send up the British planes to defend and shoot down bombers. It took a lot of work – many different ideas but the core of the group was 6 people. In other words, the research and development team which was working on a seemingly unsolvable problem or trying to make the impossible possible was a small one. The movie Castles in the Sky starring Eddie Izzard produced by the BBC distributed by Warner Home Video in 2014 outlines the ups and downs of inventing of radar technology. The person who led the team was Robert Watson-Watt who was knighted for his work. Radar technology makes the invisible visible. The story is a typical start up with not enough money, borrowed resources, but staying focused on the goal, the obstacles were overcome one by one. Since the setting is a large organization (the defense department) there are competing visions – committees to control funding and to push along the way. There were many technological innovations to be used but cunning, using what exists pushes the project along the way. One of the many solutions is determining the new TVs have the smaller and more powerful tubes which are needed to do the job – learning to use what there is not what there is not.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, while much is said about research and development, the reality for most companies expanding the uses of what exists is more profitable. The team in the movie invented radar, but the growth in the economy was using the technology for other uses such as microwave ovens and tracking passenger planes. There will always be a competing visions in companies or there should because people are people and we do not know what will happen until it happens. Ideas can transform but implementation and rolling out the idea takes organization and that is where the larger company has the advantage. Dividend companies may or may not lead in ideas but they have a great advantage on implementation and rollouts.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.