91–100 of 180 posts
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. - Thomas Edison It's not so original and it sounds like it was copied/pasted from an old quote 100 years ago
Earlier quoted context omitted.
These trends are either evolutionary or entirely predictable. Several so predictable that they first made their debut in movies long before most of us were born. I think this is what he means. Working on any of these ideas doesn't make you an innovator. You might do something in a slightly better or more novel way, but we aren't inventing crap. And if you don't execute on your slightly better path, you'll still be be…
The adage "we stand on the shoulders of giants" comes to mind. Some of the louder people in our industry could stand to remember this. In truth, there are no giants (or maybe very few). Even the giants of the adage are actually made up of innumerable little people supporting each other.
Chris Anderson: So you spoke to me last week about these two guys. Who are they and how do you relate to them? Linus Torvalds: Well, so this is kind of cliché in technology, the whole Tesla versus Edison, where Tesla is seen as the visionary scientist and crazy idea man. And people love Tesla. I mean, there are people who name their companies after him. The other person there is Edison, who is actually often vilified…
There's a myth that some people are born with amazing powers (Tesla, Einstein) but what people don't see is the hours they put in from a young age
Therefore, both Tesla and Edison worked hard, except Edison bragged about it
It's funny how he says "Don't do this big 'think different'... screw that", apparently without realising that Apple did exactly what he's talking about. Almost all of Apple's big innovations were stolen from other places, and then they shut up, and got to work : making it work properly, making it user friendly, making it sexy, and then selling it. Apple's slogan may have been "think different", and they have the imag…
Chris Anderson: So you spoke to me last week about these two guys. Who are they and how do you relate to them? Linus Torvalds: Well, so this is kind of cliché in technology, the whole Tesla versus Edison, where Tesla is seen as the visionary scientist and crazy idea man. And people love Tesla. I mean, there are people who name their companies after him. The other person there is Edison, who is actually often vilified…
Linus is right that it's about the work you put in, but he's wrong if he thinks Tesla didn't work hard to develop his visualization abilities There's a myth that some people are born with amazing powers (Tesla, Einstein) but what people don't see is the hours they put in from a young age Therefore, both Tesla and Edison worked hard, except Edison bragged about it
Upvote 1000x - I'm sick of hearing people who've done nothing and "thought leaders" ranting on. I'm pleased I put my head down, did work and did something that worked for me that I can encourage others with and give evidence. I wish those who have done nothing would go away - and stop filling my inbox, and targeted advertising spots, and meetups with their crap. I wish I could help others see over the shouting and po…
'Thought leadership' is about being honest about what's happening and expressing this. Giving a voice to SMEs about what they're doing, why they're doing it, and where they think this will go; it is ideal Agile, constituting the combination of thoughts from technology, leadership and subject matter expertise. A credible message which parts on their own cannot communicate. Some organisations do this very well. When it…
I don't want to be a dick but you've summed up what's wrong with 'thought leadership'. If thought leadership consists of a bunch of buzzwords that everyone else is using, you aren't a leader, you are a follower.
It's a business in and of itself; there's no correlation between 'thought leadership' and success. Of course the traveling preacher would want you to think there is.
I deeply respect and admire Torvalds, but in the corporate world, the hypey/trendy thing helps tech people getting important changes approved by upper management, at least in my experience. I work in a tech company whose culture is primarily driven to productivity (read: getting business features delivered using the established stack and tools, as quick as possible). There is certainly an upside to it, but it produce…
In the US there is intense pressure right from school to colleges to work to be 'exceptional', and to be recognized and celebrated for it.
There is nothing necessarily wrong, excellence is worth pursuing and to have individuals believe they can achieve it. But there is a huge difference between motivation by passion and interest and motivation by social recognition and celebration.
There are pitfalls and side effects in a society from a toxic focus on 'winners' and 'losers', constant judgement, politics and one upmanship, the ability of people to work together without the need for self congratulation and diminishing the collective. It takes a village and all.
Excellence always comes through, you don't need to do anything special, individuals who are brilliant will always shine in a self evident way without labels or self congratulation via their work, throughout history and now and in the future.
But you can't progress alone, progress comes from a generational interlinked collective, and there is huge risk of diminishing the collective and brushing every other factor under the carpet by an extreme focus on individuals.