There is a practice used in engineering architecture known as RCM – Reuse, Commonality, and Modularity.  What may seem recent and perhaps geeky, has been used for centuries in developing cultural icons and practices. Santa Claus is a prime example.

RCM Explained: Reuse, Commonality, and Modularity

Reuse refers to the practice of using existing components or systems in new contexts or projects.

Commonality is the most crucial characteristic for product’s platform design. Commonality is a property that describes how well product design uses standardized components.

Modularity is the design principle that involves breaking a system into smaller, interchangeable parts or modules. Each module serves a specific function and can operate independently. This structure allows for flexibility, easier maintenance, and the ability to adapt to changing requirements without overhauling the entire system.

Why I Study Innovators (Even Legendary Ones) 

Readers know I love to interview innovators and entrepreneurs to uncover and reveal the backstory of their success.

In one of my first interviews with Santa Claus, I learned that Santa has a great spirit, a formidable presence, and uncanny intuition. This was the year Santa brought me a puppy! But then I grew up. I thought I knew Santa’s origin and that he was too good to be true.

However, in a recent interview with Santa Claus, I learned something that will shock you. Spoiler Alert: Santa Claus is real!

More to the point, Santa embodies a desired reality by re-using different elements of the world – human needs, stories, artifacts, commercial incentives, heroes, history, theology – in creative ways.

But why is Santa needed? And why does he “stick”?

Santa’s Value Proposition

All successful innovations must provide value for a critical mass of people to attain investment, adoption, scale, adjacent product demand, and sustainable growth. The more basic the human need met, the greater the resonance across a wide range of audiences. Think, for example, of the smart phone.

What is Santa Claus’ value proposition? We can receive and participate in goodness, positive power, and wisdom beyond our ordinary existence. Also, he knows us, loves us, and he likes to surprise us with good things.

Most people have always wanted those things. For centuries, people have looked for representations of that value to connect with and share with others. Santa Claus’ brand and behavior meet those needs in a single image. But Santa did not appear out of nowhere. He was born and developed from reusing and fusing a myriad of prior, well-known images and practices.

Santa’s Lineage of Reuse

The most common link is to a 4^th century bishop from Turkey by the name of Nicholas. St. Nicholas is most famous for giving gifts in secret, especially by providing dowries to a family of poor young women who longed to marry or face living life in prostitution to survive. On three occasions (one for each girl), Nicholas tossed bags of money through open windows during the night. The bags landed in front of the fireplace where the young women’s stockings hung to dry. The story of St. Nicholas spread century after century, across western cultures, resulting in setting aside his feast day (December 6) to honor the benevolent saint. Celebrations of gift giving, including surprise gifts from St. Nick, served as the highlight.

The Dutch referred to him as Sinter Klass, shortened from Sint Nikolaas, giving rise to the English name Santa Claus.

When the Protestant Reformation came along, venerating saints fell out of favor for many people. Still, the idea of giving gifts to honor goodness and generosity was a well-loved tradition worth keeping. Protestant influencers, such as Martin Luther, advocated moving the tradition of gift giving to December 25, the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. Luther even suggested changing Santa’s name to Christ Kind. “Santa Claus” was well-established and remained the primary name, but a translation of Christ Kind (Kris Kingle) found its place among Santa’s nick names.

Northern Europe also contributed to Santa Claus, and his supernatural means of transportation across time. The Norse god, Odin, had long been revered as a tall, old, wise man with a beard who rode an 8-legged horse across the sky during winter yuletide celebrations, bringing gifts. That is Odin’s special annual job. Odin’s day jobs included welcoming slain warriors to the afterlife and preparing them for the end of the world. Odin is also credited for the creation of the pre-world and giving life to the first humans.

Codifying the Brand: Poems, Pictures, and Platforms

In 1823, Clement Moore penned a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” otherwise known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” In it, Moore adapted the 8-legged horse to 8 reindeer, and he gave them names. Rudolph came later. Moore’s poem also described Santa Claus’ appearance in detail, including his red and white clothes, his chubby face, the sparkle in his eyes, and his preference for coming into houses via chimneys late at night.

In 1863, Thomas Nast began sketching illustrations of Santa Claus in “Harper’s Weekly.” His sketches revealed Santa’s home and workshop to be the North Pole, where elves provided the labor and technology to make just-the-right toys for good girls and boys, just-in-time for Christmas.

Fast forward to the 1930’s when the Coca-Cola company ran multiple ads enhancing images from Moore’s poem and Nast’s illustrations to reinforce what has become the Commonality platform for Santa Claus. These features and functions are basic, and other portrayals of him are usually met with resistance.

• Merry
• Plump
• Coat/Cloak
• Red & White
• Beard
• Lives North
• Gives Gifts in Secret
• Loves Children
• Flies on a Sleigh pulled by Reindeer in Supernatural Time
• Appears December 24-25

However, beyond the basics are Modules or options enterprising people and companies have built and used as part of Santa’s universe. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa-themed songs like “Here Comes Santa Claus” are two examples.

Adjacent Angles and Repurposed Accidents Add to Santa Modularity

Santa’s exponential growth in popularity across the United States parallels the Victorian Era. Strict behavioral codes were top of mind from about 1830 to the early 1900’s. The idea of an all-seeing, all-knowing Santa recognizing not only what gifts a child wants for Christmas, but also if the child was naughty or nice during the past year, caught on. Though not a central, Common core element to the Santa Claus “platform,” Santa as informer of conscience and behavior modifier is an adjacent Module that stuck.

“He knows when you’ve been sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” (Lyric from the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”) illustrates the reinforcement as Santa influencing behavior. More recently, Santa has had help in this department from his friends, the elves. For instance, a product called “Elf on the Shelf” took off as an extension of this Santa modularized attribute.

One of the most fascinating Santa Claus Modules is the tracking of Santa Claus’ travels on Christmas Eve by NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). It began as an accident when Sears published a number for kids to call the Santa Hotline. A typo inadvertently gave kids access to the Strategic Defense Hotline in Colorado Springs, CO known as CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command). When Colonel Harry Shoop answered his first call and heard a child’s voice asking, “Is this Santa Claus?” he thought it was a prank. When he realized the child was serious and spoke to her mother, this enterprising officer saw it as an opportunity to have fun and build stronger bonds between the military and civilians. He gave orders to his telephone operators to answer children’s inquiries with reports of Santa’s location at the very moment of their call. It caught on, and the practice continues. In fact, today if you listen to radio or watch the news on Christmas Eve, you will hear the latest updates of Santa’s trips and promise of on-time arrival.

5 Lessons for Innovators

1. Any innovation, no matter how technical it is, grows better if it is seen to meet a deep, human need.
2. Combining and borrowing seeds of innovation from other industries and cultures is one of the most efficient and brilliant things innovators can do.
3. Negative feedback can spark adaptations without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
4. Even mistakes and accidents can be repurposed into some value aspect of the innovation and its family of products and services.
5. Stick to the Core elements that deliver on the value people want and expect emergence of spin-offs and Modules.

That wraps up the Jeanie blogs for 2025. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Peaceful, Prosperous, and Creative New Year!

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