M12: Volvo’s Historic Restraint
In the 1950s, there was a major crisis in the auto industry. Engines had become more powerful, drivers were reaching higher speeds, and vehicular deaths skyrocketed. What made the crisis worse was drivers didn’t trust lap belts anymore since they seemed to cause more issues in accidents, so drivers were beginning to get comfortable not using restraints. Volvo stepped up and solved the problem with a revolutionary new seatbelt design, but they had an uphill battle with user adoption. So, they made a decision that stunned the business world.
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M12: VOLVO’S HISTORIC RESTRAINT
OVER TIME WE SEE COMPANIES RISE AND FALL. SOME HAVE GREAT PRODUCTS BUT FAIL TO COMMUNICATE WHY THEY MATTER, AND SO THEY FIZZLE OUT. OTHERS DON’T SEEM LIKE MUCH AT FIRST, BUT THEIR PRODUCTS, MESSAGING, AND ACTIONS EVENTUALLY RESONATE AND BECOME SOMETHING THAT EVOKES EMOTION AND DRIVES PEOPLE TO ACT. THIS PHENOMENON IS WHAT MAKES UP A POWERFUL BRAND.
THESE DAYS, MANY COMPANIES GETTING THIS COMBINATION RIGHT HAPPEN TO BE CERTIFIED BENEFIT CORPORATIONS: PATAGONIA, ALLBIRDS, WARBY PARKER, TOMS SHOES, AND BEN AND JERRY’S…JUST TO NAME A FEW. THESE BENEFIT CORPORATIONS FILE PAPERWORK EVERY YEAR TO MAINTAIN THEIR STATUS AS BEING COMPAINIES THAT, IN SOME MEANINGFUL WAY, CAN BENEFIT THE GREATER GOOD. AND, AS IT TURNS OUT, THIS IS OFTEN JUST AS BENEFICIAL FOR THE BOTTOM LINE AS IT IS FOR SOCIETY. IT’S A WIN-WIN AND IT’S INSPIRING.
BUT, BEFORE THESE BENEFIT COMPANIES WERE AROUND TO GIVE US WARM FUZZIES WITH EVERY PAIR OF ORGANIC FAIR TRADE WOOL SOCKS PLACED IN OUR SHOPPING CARTS, WHAT WERE COMPANIES LIKE? WERE THEY ALL JUST OUT FOR THEMSELVES?
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A MAJOR COMPANY THAT YEARS AGO, BEFORE BENEFIT CORPORATIONS EXISTED, MADE A DECISION TO REMOVE A CLEAR ADVANTAGE OVER THEIR COMPETITORS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. IT WAS LESS ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS TO THE CHEERS AND SUPPORT OF LIKEMINDED CUSTOMERS, AND MORE ABOUT A DESIRE TO KEEP AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE ALIVE BEHIND THE WHEEL…
EPISODE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 2OTH CENTURY IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE WAS A NATIONAL CRISIS. AS DRIVING BECAME THE PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AND CAR ENGINES BECAME MORE POWERFUL, AN ALARMING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WERE DYING IN CAR ACCIDENTS. IN FACT, IN 1950, POPULAR SCIENCE MAGAZINE LABLED THE PASSENGER SEAT IN THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE: “THE DEATH SEAT.”
AMERICAN CAR COMPANIES SCRAMBLED FOR A SOLUTION, WITH ONE FAILED PROPOSAL AFTER ANOTHER – EVEN ONE REQUIRING ALL PASSENGERS TO FACE BACKWARDS. YEARS WENT BY AND VEHICULAR DEATHS CONTINUED TO CLIMB AS LAP BELTS NOT ONLY FAILED TO RESTRAIN PASSENGERS, BUT THEY SEEMED TO DO MORE DAMAGE TO INTERNAL ORGANS THAN NOT WEARING A THE BELT AT ALL.
AT THE TIME, VOLVO, THE SWEDISH CAR MAKER THAT SET SAFETY AS ITS NUMBER ONE SELLING POINT, HAD A PRESIDENT WHOSE OWN RELATIVE HAD DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT. GUNNAR ENGELLAU BELIEVED STRONGLY IN HIS COMPANY’S MISSION AND VOWED TO HAVE VOLVO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
SO ENGELLAU POACHED LITTLE-KNOWN ENGINEER NILS BOHLIN FROM RIVAL SAAB TO LEAD THE EFFORT TO INVENT A BETTER SOLUTION.
IN 1959, AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF DESIGNING AND TESTING, BOHLIN PRESENTED TO THE WORLD THE FIRST THREE-POINT SAFETY BELT, A SIMPLE DESIGN WITH A TORSO RESTRAINT CONNECTED TO A LAP BELT, ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE SEATBELT WE ALL USE TODAY.
UPON THE ANNOUNCEMENT, THE WORLD…. DIDN’T SEEM TO CARE. FOR YEARS PEOPLE HAD LEARNED IT WAS SAFER NOT TO WEAR SEAT BELTS AT ALL, SO CAR MANUFATURERS FOLLOWED THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR CUSTOMERS… AND THE INVENTION WAS IGNORED.
AT THAT POINT…AN INVENTION IS MERELY ALL IT WAS… NOT AN INNOVATION. FOR IT TO BE AN INNOVATION, IT WOULD NEED TO BE ADOPTED BY USERS.
VOLVO CONTINUED CONDUCTING MORE TESTS, SCIENTIFICALLY PROVING THAT THE THREE-POINT BELT WOULD DRASTICALLY DECREASE THE RATE OF AUTOMOBILE-RELATED DEATHS IF ONLY PASSENGERS WERE GIVEN A CHANCE TO USE IT.
EVEN THOUGH THE VOLVO PRESIDENT MADE IT MANDATORY ON ALL VOLVO VEHICLES, AND THEY PROMOTED THE RESULTS WITH ADVERTISING AND PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS, IT TOOK OVER SIX YEARS FOR EVEN A MINORITY OF SWEDES TO BEGIN USING THE BELTS.
BUT, SLOWLY BUT SURELY, AS THE YEARS WENT BY, THE DATA CAUGHT UP WITH THE INVENTION. MORE AND MORE DRIVERS WHO HAPPENED TO USE THE BELTS WERE SPARED INJURY IN ACCIDENTS.
IN THE MEANTIME, VOLVO HAD PATENTED THE DESIGN, WHICH WAS STANDARD PRACTICE IN THE INDUSTRY. AS MOMENTUM PICKED UP AND WORD SPREAD, VOLVO FOUND THEMSELVES IN A BEAUTIFUL BUSINESS POSITION OF HOLDING A PATENTED DESIGN WITH THEIR RIVALS CLAMORING TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY.
OVER NEARLY A DECADE, VOLVO HAD SPENT MILLIONS ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND FOR LEGAL PROTECTIONS OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. WHEN IT CAME TIME TO CAPITALIZE AND COLLECT LICENSE FEES FOR THE USE OF THE LIFE-SAVING INVENTION, OR BETTER YET, TO POSITION VOLVO AS THE EXCLUSIVE CAR OFFERING A LIFE-SAVING NEW SAFETY FEATURE, GUNNAR ENGELLAU, NILS BOHLIN, AND THE REST OF VOLVO, STUNNED THE CAR WORLD….THEY STUNNED THE BUSINESS WORLD, AND ALLOWED ALL MANUFACTURERS TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY….FOR FREE.
IT'S BECOMING COMMON FOR COMPANIES THESE DAYS TO BELIEVE SO STRONGLY IN THEIR MISSION THEY ADJUST THEIR OPERATIONS TO ALIGN WITH THEIR CAUSE, AND THIS IS VERY NOBLE AND INSPIRING. BUT THESE COMPANIES DON’T USUALLY HAVE A PANTENTED LIFE-SAVING INVENTION IN THEIR HANDS, POISED FOR GLOBAL ADOPTION, ONLY TO HAND IT OVER TO THEIR COMPETITORS. THAT WOULD BE INSANE.
BUT VOLVO DID.
VOLVO BELIEVED SO STRONGLY IN ITS MISSION WHERE SAFETY WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OTHER FEATURE, THAT THE ONLY CHOICE WAS TO DO WHATEVER ENCOURAGED MASS ADOPTION. IT WAS WHO THEY WERE. YES, THEY WERE A CAR COMPANY IN A COMPETITIVE GLOBAL MARKET, BUT SAFETY AND SAVING LIVES WAS WHY THEY EXISTED. NO LICENSE FEE, OR SEAL OF APPROVAL OR CERTIFICATION WAS NECESSARY FOR THE BRAND TO BE WHO THEY SAID THEY WERE AND MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION FOR THE GREATER GOOD.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/three-point-seatbelt-inventor-nils-bohlin-born
https://techandmedialaw.com/open-patent-rights-for-seatbelts/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gretchenfox/2019/03/26/the-rise-of-conscious-capitalism/