So when the 27-year-old director built a new office for his family companies -- Rathi Transpower and Polybond India, which make rubber components and water-pump parts -- executives got a meal allowance instead of a waitered room.

CNN: Recasting the Mind

To make a gadget called the Can Pump N' Pour, a circular hard plastic ring with a rubber cover that keeps the fizz in opened soda cans, Davison engineers went through 30 different versions with its own moldmaking machines before getting the shape right.

FORBES: Inside InventionLand