Inspiration struck on an August night in 1997. Under the cover of darkness, the inventor ran 13.1 miles barefoot on the walkways of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He ran faster and felt better after the run than ever before. Convinced that the walkways were the cause, Hann would begin to attempt to design a shoe which would provide a similar sensation.
He modeled the shoe’s design after that of the walkway. In 2004 Hann patented a novel running shoe which used carbon fiber instead of foam to act as cushioning. Things seemed to be going well as Hann found an investor to finance the making of prototypes of the shoe and have it analyzed in a lab. Through testing, it was found that runners wearing Hann’s design used an average of 2.2% less oxygen than those wearing control running shoes.
New Balance showed an interest in producing the shoes and called Hann in to talk price. He asked for an extraordinary amount and New Balance closed negotiations as a result. Luckily, Under Armor seemed to be next in line, as they were hoping to produce Hann’s shoes in their first shoe line. Negotiations began and after much grumbling a preliminary contract was signed. Then tensions over money grew and Hann became increasingly nervous. He flew to Oregon to meet with Adidas representatives, only to return to find an email from Under Armor expressing their regrets as they too were closing negotiations.
In short, Lenn Hann was never able to learn his lesson. He made a mistake when he demanded too much money from New Balance, and repeated this mistake when he met with Under Armor, only to come to the same result of closed negotiations. The Narrator of Invisible Man has the same problem as Lenn Hann. Neither one can learn from their mistakes, and as a result, they continue to make the same mistake and suffer from its consequences. Parallels can be drawn between the college and New Balance, and between the Brotherhood and Under Armor because the men made the mistake the first time at the college or with New Balance, and then repeated this mistake for a harsher consequence at the Brotherhood or with Under Armor. The two men then went into hibernations, as the Narrator goes underground and Hann’s shoes, which represent years of work, collect dust in his closet.
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