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One Big Idea

The Importance of Being Willing to

Readers of a certain age will remember a time when everyone and their mother seemed to have a BlackBerry. (You might even remember your significant other’s BBM pin and the crippling anxiety of the OG read receipts.) The fact is, BlackBerry had an incredibly solid product that was the must have status symbol of its day - right up until it wasn’t. 

So what happened?

A tale in two images:

BlackBerry has now become the seminal cautionary tale of ignoring all the warning signs and digging your feet in when the writing’s already on the wall. There is no shortage of anecdotal evidence to this fact that you can easily dig up - but suffice to say - even well established moats and best practices dissipate ALL THE TIME.

The hardest but most crucial thing to do in these instances, is to identify that the product or methods that got you to a certain point of success will not be carrying you into a equally fruitful future. Whether this lies in your career path or a once flourishing relationship, recognizing the need to change course and refine your approach could wind up being one of the most important decisions you ever make.

It harkens to one of our all-time favorite passages from “The Wire”:

Slight side note here: Slim Charles is an all time elite-level fringe(ish) character. 99th percentile without question. A loyal and steady voice of reason who was constantly imparting pearls of wisdom such as the above. Ok let’s carry on…

This sentiment could be accurately applied to nearly anything in 2022. Steph Curry and Joel Embiid have completely detonated the status quo for player archetypes in the NBA, while the financial sector is undergoing an undeniable revolution in front of our eyes. What drives successful marketing and social campaigns today is almost guaranteed to be obsolete by the end of the year, and the tangible data to quantify all of this is readily accessible for damn near anyone who cares enough to look! And yet, in any instance, there will always be staunch holdovers who simply refuse to relinquish the past.

The good news is that at a given moment you have access to nearly limitless, timely (and timeless), information on any topic you could possibly wish to master. What most people severely lack is the bandwidth to pursue said knowledge with an open mind (ESPECIALLY if we have previous experience in that domain.) Think about the last time a coworker preemptively tried to justify an idea by with the phrase “Well at my last job -” OR “We’ve always done it -” and you wanted to put your forehead through the nearest slab of drywall.

This line of thinking is incredibly pervasive and inherently unproductive.

Along with a suggested timely re-watch (or first watch) of The Wire - this classic episode of The Knowledge Project with Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA is a phenomenal listen as well.

(Again if you are not listening to this podcast/perusing the Farnam Street blog on a frequent basis, do yourself a favor and catch up.)

The whole interview is fantastic but the most pertinent passage occurs around the 55 minute mark and speaks to the exact dynamic we are examining here. Essentially Josh also asserts that the best tool for people to develop (entrepreneurs or otherwise) — is to be able to FULLY acknowledge and come to terms with the fundamental realities facing them in any given situation.

Only then will we be able to start tinkering, failing, and improving our approach.

The Bottom Line:

• Make a point to cultivate your own ability to take a step back and make an honest/complete assessment of your current situation.

• Use data whenever possible as a useful reference point for convincing yourself and/or others of this new reality. (Just make sure it’s a meaningful sample.)

• Once you’ve accepted these new parameters — you are free to operate from a position of immense strength. Refine your approach, and map it to the truth.

• All of the information you seek is out there, you just have to be willing to look for it.

In Closing:

Until next time, take care, and stay curious.

- G.T.

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