Saturday, January 21, 2017

Tool for Titans #43 :The problem with plans.

Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author and investor.

a) The problem with plans.

Right off the bat, Scott talks about the limitations levied when you plan your life too well.

Scott's idea is that if he plans for everything, his life will not exceed his expectations because he loses one source of creativity as he gets jammed less often. We can't really falsify this statement but productivity systems like GTD aim to assist in planning your life so well that your mind becomes more creative as you free up the time to be really imaginative.

Just who is right ?

b) Kill your darlings

It's easier to agree with this second point.

Businesses have to kill their darlings in order to grow and thrive. Sometimes, a business is fixated with an unprofitable product and this limits their ability to scale given limited resources. This is why consultants always try to trim the menu for failing restaurants to bring it back into profitability.

c) There is no pattern behind successful innovation

Great innovation comes from surprise. Entrepreneurs who adopt patterns or somebody else's playbook can create a derivative product but will not create something which changes the world.

I've always harboured grave doubts about books on turning innovation into a process. It might be better to read a technology textbook instead.

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