And for my next killer idea
When I was younger, I remember saying to myself that I was born too late. If I had grown up in the 70’s or 80’s I would’ve wrecked shop.I would have the technical vision to bring humanity to its present or better. And even if I was just a small participant, I would have done well. It would have been easy to see how all the pieces fit together.
Of course, this thought only makes sense with an impossibly futuristic dosage of hindsight. It should be more along the lines of: If I had grown up in the 70’s or 80’s, knowing what I know now, I would’ve wrecked shop. Futurists, authors, and strangers on the street profess to know which way the winds of change are blowing. What do they know? They’re not from the future and neither are we.
The fact of the matter is that we don’t understand what is coming next and only a few people can see and act on the relevant facets in this world to produce the “killer” program, product, or idea. Venture capital groups invest in loads of start-ups with the expectation that only a few of them will pan out in the marketplace. While this strategy seems to work, the world is so unpredictable that even our brightest and wealthiest minds make egregious errors (see also: everyone who trusted Bernard Madoff).
Now what?
To date I have not produced any killer apps, wrecked shops, or created any history-changing feats of innovation. But I have seen and studied people who have. One thing is clear to me: they work smart and they’re lucky.
Great! I’ll approach every problem with a premium on the users’ laziness, and keep rolling the dice.