Innovation is blind...and Unilever's CEO sees quite clearly

Interesting piece in today's Boston Globe about Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever (formerly with P&G in Europe, I believe). He brought his executive team of 40 VPs and division chiefs from around the world to Perkins School for the Blind for a field trip of sorts. Not only did the team engage in blind taste tests to gain new product insights, they engaged with the students and faculty to gain new "human" insights.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/06/24/chief_empathy_of...
As their chief marketing officer said “Real creativity and innovation come through fresh perspectives...And a company that sells soap and pasta sauce to people all over the world — 2 billion people a day use Unilever products — needs to be familiar with the diversity of its marketplace."
I think this an incredible example of leadership and openness as well as a great way to learn about consumer needs. Thought it was worth sharing...