Project Blueprint

How do you create a product that people don’t even know they want?  Before Steve Jobs made Apple famous for the iPod, he was inspired by another visionary: Akio Morita, the co-founder of SONY.  Morita turned a small Japanese startup into a global powerhouse and, along the way, wrote the playbook for designing revolutionary products.  At the heart of the story is the SONY Walkman – a deceptively si...

We tell the stories of legendary projects and the leaders behind them.   Links: Quick Survey –tell us what you think of the show or share suggestions for the next episode  Sources Get email updates every time a new episode is released–plus bonus material Follow us on X Contact Us

How do you accomplish a project that’s part art, part technology?  When Toy Story first debuted in 1995, it changed filmmaking forever. For the first time, a movie had been made entirely with computer animation. The film became the highest-grossing release of the year in the U.S., inspired one of the most successful franchises in cinema, and launched Pixar’s unprecedented run of seven consecutive...

What does it take to build the biggest airplane the world has ever seen—an aircraft two and a half times larger than any plane at the time? When the Boeing 747 debuted in 1970, it changed air travel forever. With double the capacity of earlier jets, it slashed ticket prices and democratized global travel. But behind the triumph is a story of near-disaster: a company on the edge of bankruptcy and a...

How did a company that failed three times in the commercial airliner business build the plane that defined the jet age?   By the time the 707 took flight in 1958, it had cut transatlantic ticket prices by 59%. And, for the first time in history, more people crossed the Atlantic by plane than by ship.   In this episode of Project Blueprint, discover how Boeing reinvented itself after WWII, outmaneu...

How was the world’s tallest building constructed in just 1 year and 45 days?    When the Empire State Building opened on May 1st, 1931 it stood as the tallest building in the world. It would hold that record for an unprecedented 40 years. Built ahead of schedule and under budget, it remains today an icon of American ambition.    In this episode of Project Blueprint, discover how an unlikely partne...