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Oh, Grow Op: A Lesson in Innovation

Tony Wanless

| December 10, 2009

Image by: iStock

For a long time, we have ignored one of BC's biggest industries. But yet another innovation shows we can learn from it.

I'm referring of course to marijuana-growing operations, or grow-ops for short, which supposedly form a $6 billion, $11 billion, or $13 billion industry in this province.

The difference in numbers depends on how the police and other authorities feel on different days. When the numbers quoted are ..um ..high, the message is that "this is big, and we have to do something about it - we're losing tax money!". When numbers are lower, they're trying to control the BC brand, and so massage the message to "Grow-Ops? No big deal. It's under control".

But I couldn't let a recent revelation go by without some observation: Dope growing is going mobile.

Not in terms of cell-phone use. Everybody does that. I suspect the dope trade was one of the early adopters of mobile communication technology.

No, I mean that grow-ops have taken the concept of mobile one step farther and are moving their operations into trailers that can be pulled around and so more easily avoid the prying eyes of neighbors and police.

At least that's what the police in Langley, where they have found five such mobile grow-ops in recent weeks, say is the reason.

I think it's just a clever operational innovation.

Traditionally, grow-ops have been installed in some rented old house with an absentee landlord who either didn't know what was going on, or suddenly went blind when the renters agreed readily to some exorbitant rent. Or growers bought some rattletrap house instead and crammed it full of plants.

But, eventually that became so common that everybody knew it was happening.

Besides, in this crazy real estate market renting or buying a house isn't as easy as it used to be. Today, one of those unliveable tear-downs is going for over $700,000, which can put a considerable dent in a business' cash flow.

So, a smart grower looks at those rising costs, sees a trailer that costs under $100,000 and can take almost as many plants as a small house. Plus, it can be moved occasionally so doesn't become too obvious. An idea forms. Kaching.

Sounds like a smart business process innovation to me. But then, these guys are clever and always seem to devise a solution to whatever problem confronts them.

Maybe there's a place for them in an MBA school.

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This article is so thin &

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2009-12-19 11:55.

This article is so thin & devoid of factual content, it is transparently a total waste of time. I was expecting something about A/R, collection practices, competition, & quality control. Instead we get trailer trash solutions, ignoring the fact that four huge underground MJ hydroponic farms have tapped economies of scale. Please ... Content rich next time or skip a day for writer's block.

Tony Wanless Thanks for the

Submitted by Tony Wanless on Wed, 2009-12-16 18:03.

Tony Wanless Thanks for the feedback folks. I take your points about how thin this post was about real innovation. Unfortunately, the realities of blogs are that you can rarely develop a thought much beyond the initial concept. There just isn't enough room. As a result they really become topics for discussion instead of thorough articles. Also, while 3M was one of the great examples of corporate innovation culture, it lost its way after a Jack Welch disciple took over and instituted extreme six sigma thinking. Recently, a new chief has brought back some of the practices that made 3M an innovation leader. This seems to prove to me that an innovation culture can be extremely ephemeral unless constantly nurtured. Tony

Tony, try not to confuse

Submitted by DeeZone (not verified) on Thu, 2009-12-17 14:53.

Tony, try not to confuse "blogging" with Twitter. You're stating interesting facts, perhaps a few blog posts worth. Something with a beginning, middle and end would be more worthwhile. You're given far more than 140 characters, go for it!

Indeed, what's the point to

Submitted by DeeZone (not verified) on Wed, 2009-12-16 12:44.

Indeed, what's the point to this article? A few bits' of grow-op trivia perhaps? How about some discussion on innovation - the successes of the grow-op business virus the lack of innovation by the government to get their hands on the lost tax revenue. 24 news reporting is starting to seep into BCB - eek!