Great work tends to grow out of ideas that others have overlooked, and no idea is so overlooked as one that’s unthinkable.
— Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age by Paul Graham
Related Stories and Excerpts:
- Core competence, as it is used by many managers, is a dangerously inward-looking notion. Competitiveness is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you’re good at. And staying competitive as the basis of competition shifts necessarily requires a willingness and ability to learn new things rather than clinging hopefully to the sources of past glory. The challenge for incumbent companies is to rebuild their ships while at sea, rather than dismantling themselves plank by plank while someone else builds a new, faster boat with what they cast overboard as detritus. — The Innovator’s Solution: […]
- As companies tend to innovate faster than their customers’ needs evolve, most organizations eventually end up producing products or services that are actually too sophisticated, too expensive, and too complicated for many customers in their market. Companies pursue these ‘sustaining innovations’ at the higher tiers of their markets because this is what has historically helped them succeed: by charging the highest prices to their most demanding and sophisticated customers at the top of the market, companies will achieve the greatest profitability.” Among them are new technologies and platforms. — The Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to […]
- Iterate Live long and prosper, said Sojuku as he stepped out of the meeting room. Peace and long life, I replied. Sojuku is a big fan of Star Trek. I could care less about Star Trek, but anything to make the man smile and continue feeling good about the work he puts in to enable our customers to share data about their lives and commerce. “Another shot of whiskey before you hit the streets?” “Yeah, why not!” I like the view from here. Our office overlooks the ocean, and we were fortunate to get a beautiful view of it right […]
- Talk We dropped our bags, five of us getting back from a trip to share our boons with the Wanukus. Meluna the designer, Sojuku the developer, Jakubu the technical architect, Danak the systems admin, and Kutoka the counter. Kutoka, being the oldest in the group, naturally feels the urge to start the conversation after a long and stressful trip. “So, that didn’t go as we expected, huh?” Silence. Meluna gasps in frustration “The Wanukus can be some of the most difficult group of people to get along with.” We went on a trip to the Wanukus after a long deliberation […]
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