Are you relying on genius?
Are you relying on genius?
Plus the three categories of books and why one cannot relieve the past.
Genius
I’m deep into the world of Polaroid and the release of the SX-70 as I get ready for episode three of Stratagems. You cannot separate Polaroid the company from Edwin Land, its enigmatic founder.
Dr. Land was a true genius, figuring out polarization at the age of 19 (scientists had failed to find a solution for centuries). He has an entire secret career helping the military with various projects including the U-2 plane, the famous spy plane of the Cold War. He forged Polaroid into his image.
When Dr. Land retired (some would say forced out), the company seemed to lose something. The decline wasn’t instantaneous but it never captured the magic of the SX-70 in future products or the shifts in the photography world such as digital cameras. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, 19 years after Dr. Land left the company.
Without Dr. Land, Polaroid didn’t have the same spark. Companies that rely on genius are bound to run into issues if they ever lose their resident whiz. Instead, companies need to figure out how to run with average intellect, not outlier intelligence.
Books
If you have read this newsletter for a while, you know I love books. My new podcast allows me to dive into a whole category of books that I typically wouldn’t read.
I believe there are three categories of books.
The first category are those books I start but never finish because they don’t capture my imagination. I give books around 50 pages before deciding to move on.
The second category are those books that I finish and are generally good. These books may contain a handful of powerful ideas.
The third category are those books that I finish and think about for months and years. These books are incredible and I may only read a handful of these in any given year. The books by Robert Caro, Will Durant, Josh Waitzkin and others have come up multiple times in this newsletter.
We should strive to read more of the third category of books. The challenge is that we don’t know in which category a book might fall until we finish it.
Past
I had a recent strategy conversation with a non-profit that is rebounding after the pandemic with their in-person events. One of their two strategic goals was to return to their pre-pandemic attendance levels, the other being financial.
I’m skeptical of any strategic goal that looks backwards. I understand why returning to a previous standard is attractive but I think it is fundamentally misguided.
The past is gone and we can only look forward. By focusing on the past, we dismiss the possibilities in front of us. It would be more powerful for this organization to think about their future and what they would like to create. Maybe it requires more in-person attendees or maybe the conditions are better suited for an alternative format.
The past may seem comfortable but it is not worth the trip.
Ruben
P.S. If you’re interested in working together on your organization’s strategy, send me an email. I work with 3 - 5 organizations (I call them Thinking Partners) at a time and a spot opened up recently.
The first step to explore a working relationship is a 30-minute video call where we get to know each other. The goal is to find issues that are important to your team, issues that can be solved through better strategic thinking and issues that are exciting for both of us.