We all want to be “innovative.”
But if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?
A recent Guardian article, The big idea: what’s the secret of innovation?, explained how, in a strange way, innovation can be predicted and framed.
The key, it would seem, is as my old boss used to say “Same, but different.”
The innovations that take off combine a lot of familiarity with a little bit of new.
They bring “together received wisdom with some fresh thinking.”
People need a baseline from which they can compare and orient themselves when processing new ideas. Things that are too “out there” are not consumable.
Things that don’t do anything differently or new are simply not innovative.
There’s a middle ground.
This is why analogies and metaphors can work so well, particularly if they are strong.
It’s why, in another great article, “Building Your Startup’s Attention Flywheel,” they talk about the “X for Y” analogy. In this case, they said “Airbnb for RVs.”
With that, you know exactly what they are selling and you understand the model. Plus, you’ve benefited from millions of dollars of Airbnb’s marketing spend.
We wall want to be “different” and we sometimes fall in love with just how innovative and cool our ideas and products are.
But that comes with a risk.
Not everyone will “get it” and not everyone will want to get it.
Better off to dial it back so that others do. Then, eventually, they’ll see how wonderful it all is.
Innovate at the pace of human change, not at the pace of technological change.
We all want to be “innovative.”
But if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?
A recent Guardian article, The big idea: what’s the secret of innovation?, explained how, in a strange way, innovation can be predicted and framed.
The key, it would seem, is as my old boss used to say “Same, but different.”
The innovations that take off combine a lot of familiarity with a little bit of new.
They bring “together received wisdom with some fresh thinking.”
People need a baseline from which they can compare and orient themselves when processing new ideas. Things that are too “out there” are not consumable.
Things that don’t do anything differently or new are simply not innovative.
There’s a middle ground.
This is why analogies and metaphors can work so well, particularly if they are strong.
It’s why, in another great article, “Building Your Startup’s Attention Flywheel,” they talk about the “X for Y” analogy. In this case, they said “Airbnb for RVs.”
With that, you know exactly what they are selling and you understand the model. Plus, you’ve benefited from millions of dollars of Airbnb’s marketing spend.
We wall want to be “different” and we sometimes fall in love with just how innovative and cool our ideas and products are.
But that comes with a risk.
Not everyone will “get it” and not everyone will want to get it.
Better off to dial it back so that others do. Then, eventually, they’ll see how wonderful it all is.
Innovate at the pace of human change, not at the pace of technological change.
jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
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jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
jer979Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...
jer979Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
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