"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."

Benjamin Franklin

Otto Frederick Rohwedder introduced the world's first mechanical bread slicer in 1928 but he had to be innovative and persevere difficult situations at the same time. After a successful career owning three jewelry stores, Rohwedder sold them to help finance his dream of creating a machine that automatically sliced bread. His first attempt at creating the bread slicer ended in tragedy in November 1917 when fire destroyed the factory with his prototype and blueprints. Needing money, Rohwedder went to work as an investment and security agent during the 1920s and eventually saved money to complete his invention 11 years later in 1928. Since sliced bread was such a new concept, bakers and consumers alike were apprehensive about it but over the next five years sliced bread would eventually outsell loafs of bread in sales.

The MEAPA Way suggests that individuals, business, schools, communities and other organizations can learn a variety of lessons from this story by reading his biography here and answering the following questions:

• Rohwedder had a career in jewelry prior to inventing his machine so what trait or habit did he practice in order to successfully move from one career to the next?
  
• How does his story demonstrate the ability to persevere difficult situations?
  
• How did Rohwedder demonstrate the ability to accept and discuss new ideas?
  
• What traits or habits does one need in order to design a brand new invention?
  
• As you seek to further your personal and professional development, what lesson/s can you take from this story and apply it to your ability to rebound from failure, take calculated risk or practice self-improvement?