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"The speakers were exceptional, providing clear guidance on the next steps I need to take."
— Multi-Store Owner/Operator
I'm writing this from the Clean Show floor in Orlando, surrounded by millions of dollars of equipment and thousands of people who've traveled here from around the world. It's Sunday, the second day, and something occurred to me while walking these aisles.
Many booths are showcasing something "new”, a feature, a product, a service. Presso unveiled their Air Touch stain identification system. CCI launched their new tap and swipe payment system. The pattern is hard to miss. These companies all managed to time their innovations for this exact weekend.
Which made me wonder. What if we've been thinking about Clean Show backwards this entire time?
Theory Taking Shape
We think of Clean Show as where companies come to display their innovations. But what if Clean Show is what causes many of these innovations to exist in the first place?
Think about it from a manufacturer's perspective. You know that every two years, tens of thousands of industry people will gather in one place. Your competitors will be there. Your clients will be there. You've invested in booth space and logistics.
Can you really show up with nothing new to talk about?
This creates a fascinating dynamic. The Clean Show doesn't just respond to innovation, it might actually create it. The two year cycle becomes a forcing function that drives development schedules across the entire industry.
The Two Year Innovation Pluse
Without Clean Show, when would manufacturers innovate? When they felt like it? When quarterly earnings disappointed? When a competitor forced their hand? The timeline would be completely unpredictable.
But Clean Show creates something unique, a synced sprint cycle. Every manufacturer knows that in 2025, 2027, 2029, they'll have a massive audience. They plan for and around it. They budget for it. Importantly, they develop for it.
This might sound artificial, and it is. But here's the thing, it might be accidentally brilliant.
Two years is an interesting timeframe. It's long enough to develop meaningful improvements, not just cosmetic changes. But it's short enough to maintain momentum, to keep the pressure on. And because everyone's on the same schedule, customers can compare innovations side by side.
The COVID Gap Year
The three year gap between Clean Shows due to COVID was telling. Did innovation slow down? Did the extra year throw off their development rhythm? Walking the floor today, it feels like everyone's making up for lost time, like the industry held its breath for an extra year.
Why This Matters
As I'm walking through exhibits, watching demonstrations, listening to pitches, I'm realizing something. My presence here, our collective presence, isn't just about shopping for equipment. We're part of the mechanism that drives innovation forward.
The Uncomfortable Question
Here's what's been nagging at me as I walk past booth after booth. How many of these innovations would exist without Clean Show's deadline? Would Presso have pushed to finish their stain identification technology this year? Would CCI have released their payment system to market at this time?
Or would these improvements have sat in development for another few years, waiting for the "perfect" moment to come?
The pressure of Clean Show, artificial as it may be, forces companies to ship. To commit. To stop tinkering and deliver something to the market. In the software world, they say "deadlines drive decisions." Clean Show might be the ultimate deadline for our entire industry.
The Positive Spin We're Missing
This isn't a criticism. It's a celebration of something Clean created. By gathering every two years, by creating this moment where everyone's watching, Clean has built an innovation engine that keeps our industry moving forward.
Without it, we might look like other industries that barely change decade after decade. Instead, we have regular pulses of advancement, predictable moments where the entire industry levels up together.
Thinking about the thinking of laundry:
When you realize that Clean Show is not just a show, but a platform and timeline that drives/creates innovation.
As I finish writing this from the show floor, heading back to see more demos, I'm left with one question for you, what role do you think you play in driving innovation just by being here, or even just by knowing Clean Show exists?
That's all I got for you today.
Waleed
PS: join me of 3 days of higher level conversations at the Laundry CEO Forum
Echoing the thoughts of C. Northcote Parkinson.
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
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