But both also share one weakness. Edison didn’t invent the phonograph, just as Steve Jobs didn’t invent the computer. Victor Talking Machine Company introduced the “Victorola”, and Columbia also introduced their own brand of phonograph. Columbia, Victor, and Edison were the three companies dominating the industry. But Columbia and Victor standardized on the disc and their play-back technologies, while Edison stubbornly stuck with the cylinder, insisting that Edison recordings would only play on Edison phonographs. Today, Jobs and iTunes continue to use their own proprietary music formats, ignoring the MP3 format that is so dominant. Jobs insists that iTune recordings would only play on iPod players.

Edison eventually lost out to Victor and Columbia. Will Steve Jobs follow suit?

Thomas Edison epitomized the word “invention”. But his successes were far from easy, and many of his ideas did not work the way he had expected.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Edison was a true optimist. Not only did he have faith in his own abilities, but he also had faith in our abilities as human beings.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

“Failure” was something that Edison had the wisdom to accept as part of any inventive process, but he didn’t accept failure of one aspect to be the failure of an entire concept.

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”

Imagine if Edison had given up when things didn’t go his way. The things that Thomas Edison invented would likely have been invented by someone else if Edison had failed. But they would have been discovered much later in history. His inventions were a key element of our industrial revolution, which would eventually push the United States into the forefront of technology and innovation.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Thomas Edison was best known as an inventor and innovator. But many people don’t realize that Edison was also an extremely successful business man. Not content to simply invent new ways of doing things, Edison also had the insight to manage the development, manufacture, sales, and distribution of his products. Edison also displayed his keen business senses by separately incorporating different business entities, reorganizing them when necessary, and selling them when appropriate, almost always at a very good profit.

Edison’s only significant business failure involved his invention and attempted commercialization of a new method of mining iron ore. He spent 10 years of work and millions of dollars in research and development before giving up on the venture. Even then, Edison had the foresight to simultaneously develop the phonograph and motion pictures during the same time period, a living example of the old adage about not “keeping all your eggs in one basket”.

In today’s business world, we complain about unfair competition from other countries, trade imbalances, and corporate misconduct. We hear about lay-offs, cut-backs, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. Small business struggles with tax burdens, fuel costs, and employee benefits. But in the end, if Edison were alive today, I think he would still encourage us to “Have Faith!” and to “Go forward!”

On August 27, 1878, Thomas Edison began his experiments with electric lighting. Just a few months later, on November 15th, the Edison Electric Light Company (later to become General Electric) was incorporated. Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb, as many people believe. Edison perfected the incandescent light bulb by using an improved carbon filament which made it economically practical to use. Edison filed for his first patent with his high-resistance carbon filament (U.S. Pat. 223,898) on November 1, 1879.

Now, California politicians are working to close this chapter in history by banning the sale of all incandescent light bulbs by the year 2012. The author of this bill, Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, calls this the “How Many Legislators Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?” act. According to Levine, the intent of his bill is to phase out the standard, incandescent bulb in favor of more energy-efficient models such as the compact fluorescent lamp. The bill has become controversial because of the significant price difference for consumers, as well as the general distrust that arises whenever politicians become involved in household decisions.

Still, I think Thomas Edison would approve. General Electric, Philips, Sylvania, and other major light bulb manufacturers will likely support the bill, which makes sense as they are also the manufacturers of the more expensive fluorescent bulbs. Although the fluorescent bulbs currently retail for as much as $9 each, they can burn 10 times longer and save roughly $50 in electricity over the life of the bulb.

There are two quotes from Edison that I think would express his viewpoint today:

“There’s a way to do it better - find it.”

“Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless.”

The bill is still being debated, with a similar bill having been proposed by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael which would ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by the year 2018. The two politicians are working to merge their measures once they can agree on specifics.

“One of the imperative needs of the navy, in my judgment, is machinery and facilities for utilizing the natural inventive genius of Americans to meet the new conditions of warfare as shown abroad, and it is my intention if a practical way can be worked out… to establish at the earliest moment a department, to which all ideas and suggestions, either from the service or from civilian inventors, can be.”

Soon after submitting his proposal, Edison was named to head the Naval Consulting Board and helped to choose its members. Ironically, Edison was obviously against war and violence.

“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”

“There will one day spring from the brain of science a machine or force so fearful in its potentialities, so absolutely terrifying, that even man, the fighter, who will dare torture and death in order to inflict torture and death, will be appalled, and so abandon war forever.” (From many years before the advent of nuclear or biological weapons.)

I think it is likely that Edison was in the precarious position of being patriotic and wanting to serve his country, while at the same time abhorring war and violence. Edison seemed to believe that superior technology would do more to prevent wars than to end them. During World War I, this concept may have had merit. But if he had been alive during World War II or subsequent wars, he would have witnessed the creation of military labs whose sole purpose was to use technology to create weapons of mass destruction. Thomas Edison was famous for inventing and developing technologies that improved our lives. What would he think of our military use of technology today?

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931) is renowned as an inventor, scientist, and entrepreneur. While most people are familiar with his work with the light bulb and the phonograph, many are unaware of his involvement in journalism. Edison had very little formal education, having been taught reading, writing, and arithmetic at home by his mother. Yet this modest foundation led to a life-long curiosity and ability to teach himself physics, engineering, and even chemistry.

“My mother taught me how to read good books quickly and correctly, and as this opened up a great world in literature, I have always been very thankful for this early training.”

Employed in his youth by the Grand Trunk Railroad as a “candy butcher”, he sold sweets, newspapers, and magazines on the train. Soon he was writing, printing, and selling his own newspaper on the train. When the Civil War battle of Shiloh was reported, Edison found a way to obtain extra copies of the Detroit Free Press newspaper. Using telegraphy, he had the headlines transmitted ahead to the train’s scheduled stops. At each station, Edison found crowds eagerly waiting to buy his copies of the newspaper, which he sold at a substantial profit. Soon Edison was employed as a telegrapher, becoming a press-wire operator, handling important news dispatches. From this work, Edison established relationships with journalists and editors, as well as those fellow telegraphers who later became newspaper reporters. These relationships became invaluable for keeping Edison’s name in the public consciousness.

Many of Edison’s inventions and innovations play a key role in the success of the Internet - our modern electric power system that allows the computers, servers, and related equipment to function; the telegraphy principals that allow simultaneous and bi-directional communications to take place; the recording industry that provides iTunes, Napster, YouTube, and other online media vendors with music and video. He even had a role in developing the alkaline battery, the ancestor of today’s rechargeable batteries that run our personal electronic devices.

Edison held 1,093 U.S. patents, more than any single inventor in history. My goal as a writer is to approach today’s topics from Edison’s viewpoint, to educate others about the life of this remarkable man, and perhaps to inspire the sharing of his unique vision with the innovators of today and tomorrow. Your comments, questions, and feedback are welcome and encouraged - and very much appreciated!