For someone who have never use a vacuum cleaner before and never feel the need to get one, I read this autobiography from James Dyson, who is the famous inventor of dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.
I grew up without carpet in my house, so the cleaning method was always sweep and mop. When I got an apartment in Japan with carpet flooring, I just got myself a sticky roll to roll away all the dust, luckily I was in that apartment for only one year, I couldn't stand carpet flooring, I felt that it was too dusty and in my mind, anything that is not cleaned using water is not clean!
Anyway, back to the book. I first heard of Dyson when I was looking for a job before I graduated, it showed up in Jobstreet. Did a little research on that company too, well since it's located in Johor (too far from my home), I never pursued further. Hahaha, at the end, I worked near my home and still work at the same company. A friend once said that it's better to find a first job that is far from home, it would be better for the career progression because since one's is already far from home, he or she would be more willing to take risk and go for interesting and challenging endeavours. Well, there's some truths in it.
From the book, James Dyson showed that he's very determined person, he worked hard to get what he wants. He was very young when he was sent to a boarding school and he was different from others. He "challenged" the school authority. Well, he went on to study art and met his future wife there.
Then, he met with a mentor, Jeremy Fry who hired him to join his company. Dyson helped with the design of sea truck and later became the salesperson for the sea truck. Dyson was earning good money in selling the sea truck. However, when he invented the ballbarrow (a wheelbarrow with a ball instead of a tyre), he left and set up a company with his relative. Although the product was a success, Dyson was ousted from the company he formed and not speaking with his relatives for 10 years. He mentioned that "you shouldn't go into business with relatives". Well, not only not going into business with relatives, I think that money is a tricky issue too, if possible, do not lend or borrow money from relatives.
After he left the first company he co-founded, he started to discover the shortcomings of the conventional vacuum cleaner. During his time in this ballbarrow company, he solved a problem of clogged screen with a cyclone (a high cone that spun the dust out of the air by centrifugal force). Dyson used the same principal to design a new bagless vacuum cleaner in his farm. During that time, his wife worked to support them and he mentioned that if all things failed, they can still use their skills to make living, a benefit from the vocational training. He managed to built a working prototype and from the experiences and lessons he learnt from his first company, he decided not to manufacture his new design himself, instead he would licensed out his design to manufacturers. However, his luck was down until a Japanese company decided to get the license to produce his dual cyclone vacuum cleaners and he tasted success the first time with his design. The first dual cyclone vacuum cleaners are called G-Force (a odd name for a household appliance!) and the selling price was 1200 pounds. That was a lot even in today standard!
Dyson kept mentioning Hoover and Electrolux in his autobiography, well, it seems that both these companies (along with many other vacuum cleaners manufacturers) didn't took interest in the cyclone vacuum technology and they tried to undermine his design. And in the early days, Dyson kept getting discouraging words, however he preserved and finally succeeded. Well, for me, maybe two or three rejections are enough to turn me off.
In the autobiography, he mentioned that a lot of students lost interest in engineering and opt for other art subjects. Well, as an engineering student myself, and now working in a manufacturing company, this field just don't pay as much as sales and marketing, banking, programming, accounting, etc. Some colleagues of mine said that they even asked their younger siblings or children not to take up engineering courses in university, the pay was just not worth the amount of effort we put in. Well, I still love science and I believe the existence of science will make the world a better place though.
Finally, although I am awed by the dual cyclone vacuum cleaner from the words in this book, I am still not getting a vacuum cleaner, I will still sweep and mop my floor.
Anyway, back to the book. I first heard of Dyson when I was looking for a job before I graduated, it showed up in Jobstreet. Did a little research on that company too, well since it's located in Johor (too far from my home), I never pursued further. Hahaha, at the end, I worked near my home and still work at the same company. A friend once said that it's better to find a first job that is far from home, it would be better for the career progression because since one's is already far from home, he or she would be more willing to take risk and go for interesting and challenging endeavours. Well, there's some truths in it.
From the book, James Dyson showed that he's very determined person, he worked hard to get what he wants. He was very young when he was sent to a boarding school and he was different from others. He "challenged" the school authority. Well, he went on to study art and met his future wife there.
Then, he met with a mentor, Jeremy Fry who hired him to join his company. Dyson helped with the design of sea truck and later became the salesperson for the sea truck. Dyson was earning good money in selling the sea truck. However, when he invented the ballbarrow (a wheelbarrow with a ball instead of a tyre), he left and set up a company with his relative. Although the product was a success, Dyson was ousted from the company he formed and not speaking with his relatives for 10 years. He mentioned that "you shouldn't go into business with relatives". Well, not only not going into business with relatives, I think that money is a tricky issue too, if possible, do not lend or borrow money from relatives.
After he left the first company he co-founded, he started to discover the shortcomings of the conventional vacuum cleaner. During his time in this ballbarrow company, he solved a problem of clogged screen with a cyclone (a high cone that spun the dust out of the air by centrifugal force). Dyson used the same principal to design a new bagless vacuum cleaner in his farm. During that time, his wife worked to support them and he mentioned that if all things failed, they can still use their skills to make living, a benefit from the vocational training. He managed to built a working prototype and from the experiences and lessons he learnt from his first company, he decided not to manufacture his new design himself, instead he would licensed out his design to manufacturers. However, his luck was down until a Japanese company decided to get the license to produce his dual cyclone vacuum cleaners and he tasted success the first time with his design. The first dual cyclone vacuum cleaners are called G-Force (a odd name for a household appliance!) and the selling price was 1200 pounds. That was a lot even in today standard!
Dyson kept mentioning Hoover and Electrolux in his autobiography, well, it seems that both these companies (along with many other vacuum cleaners manufacturers) didn't took interest in the cyclone vacuum technology and they tried to undermine his design. And in the early days, Dyson kept getting discouraging words, however he preserved and finally succeeded. Well, for me, maybe two or three rejections are enough to turn me off.
In the autobiography, he mentioned that a lot of students lost interest in engineering and opt for other art subjects. Well, as an engineering student myself, and now working in a manufacturing company, this field just don't pay as much as sales and marketing, banking, programming, accounting, etc. Some colleagues of mine said that they even asked their younger siblings or children not to take up engineering courses in university, the pay was just not worth the amount of effort we put in. Well, I still love science and I believe the existence of science will make the world a better place though.
Finally, although I am awed by the dual cyclone vacuum cleaner from the words in this book, I am still not getting a vacuum cleaner, I will still sweep and mop my floor.
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| Autobiography of James Dyson |
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| Autobiography of James Dyson |
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| extract from the book |
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| extract from the book |
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