Comments on It Seemed Like The Thing To Do At The Time

Noah Iliinsky — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:25:42 GMT

Joe, I didn’t get stuck in the companies that weren’t doing as well. I had excellent, educational experiences, and got out when it was clear that there were better opportunities out there. Both companies are still around, but not (yet?) changing the world.

If I was to give one piece of advice I’d say make sure the leadership team is really more than one individual. The successful company had two excellent founders who very actively sought input from a board of investors and board of advisers. The other companies were each run by the individual founder, and in both cases had no real obligation to any investors or board, so they were allowed to drift, rather than proving themselves. Accountability is good incentive, it turns out.

Hope that’s helpful to someone. Good luck to all!

Joe Lamantia — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:42:04 GMT

@Joan: You’ve surfaced the painful side of managing a finite resource base, and balancing environmental capacity with growth. Other ‘population control’ practices the Tikopians employ include delayed marriage, delayed child-rearing, and what amounts to voluntary suicide by sailing away in an open raft without provisions when population gets too high. Note that these practices are quite a bit less common in the modern era – many people now emigrate to other islands.

Given that Tikopians faced these sorts of choices, I think their careful stewardship of the environment through repeated comprehensive shifts in self-definition is easier to understand.

I’ve received some wonderful insights from entrepreneurs since this article was published. One of the best was “an entrepreneur needs to remain engaged with the business while detaching from outcomes.” I think it’s sound advice, based on my experiences, and is something I will attempt to put into practice with my next venture. Of course, detachment from outcomes can be very tough to achieve if it’s something you believe in and have put effort into. But still, isn’t it better to give your idea a chance in the first place?

@Noah: Sounds like you’ve seen this story from the inside a few times. How well did things work for you? Have you been able to gauge the flexibility of teams before you joined? [In other words, what should we be on the lookout for…?]

Thanks for sharing the writeup.

Noah Iliinsky — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:46:48 GMT

Joe, this is a great lesson.

I’ve worked for several startups. One was an unqualified success: we were bought out for many millions of dollars and the founders are now rich. Two others languished or underperformed, despite brilliant ideas and dedicated, capable staff. They key difference was the willingness of the successful founders to change course and adapt to circumstances and feedback (changing our product focus while leveraging our underlying technology), rather than staying the unproven or unlikely but hoped-for course. ( I expand on this just a bit more here: http://blogs.exbiblio.com/2006/08/15/departure-noah-iliin… )

I’ll toss one more metaphor into play. Apply it to business, politics, or wherever you find it fits: they say it’s a bad idea to change horses in mid stream, but when the horse is in over its head…

Joan Vermette — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:21:29 GMT

I guess…using a Tikopia as an example of successful adaptation is…interesting…you mention “stringent population control” measures they adopted, and it’s actually important to mention what those measures are: infanticide.

So the Tikopians, in order not to have their culture fail, had to kill their own children.

And, so, this is one of the things that keeps me from becoming an entrepreneur… a fear that I’d be asked, metaphorically of course, to kill my children…my pet ideas that in some cases might be the reason I started a business to begin with…and that might live and be useful if I weren’t living on a tiny island with limited resources…i.e., running my own tiny business.

Anyone want to say more about this?

Joe Lamantia — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:02:57 GMT

@Praveen: I hope you enjoy the next few installments. I can’t guarantee they’ll be as philosophical / spiritual / etc. but they should be good reads.

@Josh: Thanks for pointing out the connections linking positional authority, relative optimism (state of mind…), and the flexibility of an organizational culture. In an interesting parallel, I’ve read that wealth and high social standing tend to increase average lifespans, once you account for inherited health factors (like pre-disposition to heart disease). After setting aside variations due to genetics and access to health care, the driving factor that increases life spans is the ability to exercise control over the course of life. Having even a small sense of control over what happens in your life apparently makes you live longer. I wonder if the parallel holds for organizations? If the people who provide the core customer experience are the least positive, that must have an impact on the organization’s performance in the long run.

@Rafa: Maybe you should make some calls to the government :)

@ Laurie: I’m glad you enjoyed the change in tone! Anyone who’s succeeded (at anything) knows failure is always possible, and should be respected as a natural part of life. It’s also natural to look for good models and examples – “Nothing succeeds like success” – of what and how to do something, so I think we have more of those amped up profiles to look forward to…

laurie kalmanson — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:33:35 GMT

very brave and funny; an xlent antidote to annoying, fawning “success” profiles in biz mags that editorially nod their heads when someone says they made a bazillion dollars thanks to insisting that the whole team do headstands every day

sometimes, we win

Rafa R — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:24:13 GMT

Great article. Now we just need politicians to understand these concepts, too.

Brendan:
“Forgive our ignorance, but what will happen when the trees run out?”

If they were like many people nowadays regarding global warming/contamination, the answer would probably have been something like “Oh, that would never happen; it hasn’t been proved that’s ever going to happen. And, if it does, we will *eventually* find a solution”.

I heard that in Tahitian, a [polynesian language][1], there is no “future tense”. Therefore, the concept of the future and predicting what will happen, or worrying about the future consequences, is not present among the population. If this is true, and it applied to Easter Islanders, it could explain why nobody asked what would happen after all the trees had been cut.

[1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahitic_languages

Josh C — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:19:56 GMT

Today the company I work for is at a transition point. The executives call it a ‘turnaround’. This ‘turnaround’ is being driven by a series of failures and missteps that ultimately lead to layoffs and being out of sync with the larger market.

I’ve noticed how positional authority can predict the optimism of an employee. Directors and above are generally very optimistic and driven to see the company succeed. The lower you are on the food chain, the tendency for pessimism increases. I work in retail so the low man in the food chain interacts the most with our customers.

Is the individual attitude governed by financial benefit or something less tangible like work ethic or ego? Or maybe it’s the realization that my ability to change an culture like a company is less as an individual contributor?

It’s no wonder we see similarities between these societies and todays companies. Many of us invest significant energy at work and our fortunes rise and fall based on the success of our employers.

On the one hand it’s about finding the simple path to success, but in a larger organization it’s about identifying each employee as a leader to lead the adaptation from failure – executives need to listen and act decisively. No doubt the members of your team were optimistic, smart and capable of running a profitable company. I’ve discovered that in a small team it’s harder to take the time to see the bigger picture.

A start-up I worked for came to the brink of folding before realizing that talented people couldn’t create the ‘rain’ to support the good intentions. The masters of navigating failure realize the path from good intentions to reality lacks a road map. Maybe it’s dumb luck, maybe it’s fate – but I wouldn’t trade the failures for more success. Of course I’m not on Easter Island :)

Praveen Kumar Verma — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:15:44 GMT

Nice read Joe. The best thing about this article is that it is not about a tool or process but about perceptions, values, and attitudes. Also it is about redefining the thought process to cope up with the ever changing world and preparing oneself for unknown and unidentified challenges. It teaches one to look beyond “I” and to develop compassion and empathy for everyone. Loved the way you used history and personal experiences to corroborate your thoughts.

Now talking about ignorance. If ignorance was bliss we would have never opened knowledge centers like universities and libraries churning and showcasing loads and loads of information. We thirst for knowledge and consume it all the time. May be ignorance is bliss sometimes (once in one million) but it is knowledge that prevails and keep us going.

I would rather rewrite it to: Ignorance [informed] is bliss [rarely]
I know that there is nothing called “Informed Ignorance” but just a wishful thinking.

Waiting for more to come in the series.

Joe Lamantia — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:23:45 GMT

@Brendan: I agree. I suspect we’re working toward the same end — advocating for open-mindedness, asking why, revisiting unspoken assumptions, etc., all with the goal of keeping a flexible state of mind that allows for good alternatives to emerge from the discussion— even as we use different labels.

As you say, taking the stance of someone without a deep set of preconceived notions or a rigidly defined point of view can be a powerful tool that furthers your understanding. That’s a method of discovery that many in design (and other) disciplines use to good effect.

Shall we try again on the mantra:
[adopting the stance of] ignorance is [a] power[ful way to enhance understanding]

I wouldn’t recommend being or *staying* fully ignorant of what you’re trying to understand – and I’m sure that’s not what you had in mind, either.

BTW: Diamond uses the idea of creeping normalcy to shed some light on how people might allow themselves to run out of trees. Creeping normalcy very briefly means that if each generation cuts down a few more trees, then the cumulative decrease in the number of trees over time can be hard to perceive. His discussion of course is more in depth…

Brendan Hamley — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:43:12 GMT

Sorry I can’t agree with that!

Maybe ignorance is/was the wrong word to use here, but the gist is that believing in something (insert: self/project/organisation/culture) 100% means there’s really no space for alternative options. From time to time, take the stance of someone who knows nothing and you may well help others (and yourself) to find the boundaries of what is REALLY known and understood about an issue.

In the world of experts and professionals the person who is prepared to say ‘I don’t understand why’ or, ‘explain this to me in ways even I can understand’ illicits either a) new knowledge for the endeavour or b) understanding of where further examination is needed. Not that I’m recommending putting colleagues and associates on the defensive of course, just that some good open, honest ‘kings new clothes’ type questions can really shed light where insight and knowledge may not freely available.

If some Easter Islanders had said; “Forgive our ignorance, but what will happen when the trees run out?” the resultant answer (or lack of one) might have saved their fate.

Joe Lamantia — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:01:45 GMT

@Afshan: Thanks!

@Brendan: You’re quite right, it is easy to get caught up in the wearing the mantle of expert. Or any other mantle that’s as much constructed as real. Once your mantle closes you off to the world…

On mantras, maybe ‘ignorance is power[fully bad]’ ?

@Davee: I came upon Shantideva while looking for other things, yet the fit seemed natural; I suppose that happens often :) I think verse 110 would make a perfect creed for usability / design professionals.

Davee Evans — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:29:13 GMT

Can’t say I’ve ever seen Bodhisattva Shantideva’s writing in a business context before, thank you for working him into modern considerations.

In my spiritual path, I’ve done a terrible job of following his advice. But his “exchanging self and other” suggestion to me means to always think of the welfare of others and try to see the world from the viewpoint of others as much as one can, instead of peering from the habitual castle of ‘self’ and ‘mine’. This does seem really in line with the discipline of design, since the overcoming of one’s bias and having a wider viewpoint is crucial for good design.

Perhaps verse 110 from chapter 8 could be a usability designer’s creed (Padmakara Translation):

Just as I defend myself,
from all unpleasant happenings however small,
Likewise I shall act for others’ sake,
To guard and protect them with compassion.

Brendan Hamley — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 02:35:28 GMT

Insightful, honest and true! How good to see an ‘expert’ open enough to show it’s OK to admit to being wrong.

It’s a great article too, because it breathes life into the idea that we are people first and foremost – the determined expert persona is merely a useful by-product of this. I wonder, how many times we fail due to a misguided quest for self-worth through professional achievement? Perhaps we try too hard to convince ourselves (and others) that our professional beliefs and actions are the measure of who we are.

There’s a new mantra I’ve been hearing lately; ‘ignorance is power’. I suspect this means that knowing what you don’t know is far wiser and more powerful than blindly believing you know everything.

Good stuff and thanks.

afshan kirmani — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:01:56 GMT

Ah, a true piece of inspiration. I absolutely enjoyed the way you weaved in your knowledge of the world with a personal experience.

The truth to success begins by admitting our failures. I loved your approach, Joe. Keep us updated buddy. :)