When things unintentionally solve problems...

One thing I've learned from travelling for work is that services and products often solve problems they’re not primarily there to solve.

Coffee shops become my office, hotel ironing boards become my standing desk and my laptop becomes a powerbank for my battery-hungry phone.

During this weekend’s heatwave, my overnight train from Munich to Cologne became a climate refuge. The journey mattered, but the aircon mattered even more.

Now, I regularly travel by overnight train, so there wasn't any novelty value. And I’ve been known to play railway roulette and co-opt a random train as a mobile office. But I’d never thought of the benefit in terms of temperature before.

It was my usual train, but it offered an entirely different value proposition.

For once, even a delay would have felt like a Bahn bonus. Sadly, Deutsche Bahn’s overnight timetables are padded enough that the train arrived more or less when it was supposed to. Typical! The one time a delay would have improved the customer experience.

But it’s got me thinking about where else I might find hidden value in the services and products I use. Because I suspect that with a bit of creative thinking, there's a lot more I can get out of them.

And when the next heatwave strikes, look out for me on the midnight train going anywhere.

[Since people often ask me — and no, they're not paying me for this — my travel pillow of choice (pictured) is by Kapten & Son]