What important truth do very few people agree with you on ?
Good answers are close as we can come to looking into the future.
The Future of Progress
No one can predict the future, but we know two things:
- it’s different from today
- it rooted in today’s world
The future of progress can one of two forms.
Horizontal or extensive progress
It means copying things that work - going from 1 to n.
Take one typewriter and build 100
The single word for horizontal progress is Globalization. Taking things that work somewhere and making them work everywhere. China is the paradigmatic example of globalization
Vertical or intensive progress
It means doing new things from 0 to 1
Take one typewriter and build a word processor
The single word for vertical progress is technology. Silicon Valley is example of technology. But echnology should’t be limited to computer. Any new and better way of doing things is technology
Startup Thinking
Why new technology tends to come from new startups?
it’s hard to develop new things in big organization. Bureaucratic hierarchies (官僚主义) move slowly, entrenched (既得利益者) interests shy away from risk .
it’s also hard to do it by yourself.Startups operate on the principle that you need to work with other people to get stuff done.
Startups’s most important strength is new thinking, question recevied ideas and rethink business from scratch.