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Value is created by doing

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Value is created by doing

#11

Post by natural219 »

All advice is a two-way street. I think at this point, the proverbial "advice market" is saturated with this idea that "doing" is far superior to "thinking". This is because, traditionally, hackers tend to lie squarely on the "thinking too much" end of the spectrum.

I'm interested to read at least one post on the opposite advice -- what happens when you're too heavy on the "doing" end of the spectrum? Are there examples of startups failing because of too much emphasis of execution? At the very least, the "ideas are nothing, execution is everything" meme is clearly logically flawed. You can execute as fast as possible while creating zero customer value.

Re: Value is created by doing

#13

Post by chris_mahan »

natural219 wrote: post #11

All advice is a two-way street. I think at this point, the proverbial "advice market" is saturated with this idea that "doing" is far superior to "thinking". This is because, traditionally, hackers tend to lie squarely on the "thinking too much" end of the spectrum. I'm interested to read at least one post on the opposite advice -- what happens when you're too heavy on the "doing" end of the spectrum? Are there examp…

This morning I talked about working as a dishwasher in a restaurant with a coworker. I last did that when I was 18, more than 25 years ago, but I remember how hard it was (busy Chili's on University Drive in Fort Worth TX, next to TCU). There was a lot of working, but not a lot of thinking. And you get wet too.

Re: Value is created by doing

#14

Post by thomasluce »

You're talking about the labor theory of value.

Communist.

But in seriousness, you should read Marx's and Smith's thoughts on the labor theory. In a service industry (and by service, here I mean, "does not hand you a physical thing") it gets really interesting to think about.

Great post!

Re: Value is created by doing

#16

Post by thomasluce »

webwright wrote: post #5
jmathai wrote: post #4

I realize this is pointed out in the original post but it's important to state for those of us who only read comments and headlines. The longer I do this the more I believe that value isn't created by doing. It's created by selling. As hackers and engineers the idea of "creating value by doing" resonates with us. We're happy to hole up in a dark room and create. It feels great. Wish I could do that for the rest of my…

Selling is a subset of doing. That said, I like your point.

But it's closer to the act of exchange, divorcing it from the act of production. I commented further down on it, but it could be fun to read up on the labor theory of value vs. the subjective theory.

Re: Value is created by doing

#17

Post by beersigns »

This was a pretty thought provoking read for me; it put into words some of the beliefs I have operated by. However it's also important to remember that to be 'doing' you need to have a clear picture of why you're doing what you're doing. A lot of people I've met(and myself at times) do not know what they want to do; they've only learned about things they don't want to do in their experiences. I do agree it's best to gravitate towards projects that truly interest you though; if you don't believe in what you're doing you risk drifting into complacency.

Re: Value is created by doing

#18

Post by prawks »

natural219 wrote: post #11

All advice is a two-way street. I think at this point, the proverbial "advice market" is saturated with this idea that "doing" is far superior to "thinking". This is because, traditionally, hackers tend to lie squarely on the "thinking too much" end of the spectrum. I'm interested to read at least one post on the opposite advice -- what happens when you're too heavy on the "doing" end of the spectrum? Are there examp…

Not enough thinking leads to less consideration of alternatives and vaguer goals.

That being said, it's very, very difficult to dismiss mistakes, as wastes of time, as everything is a learning opportunity in the end. Of course mistakes have consequences related to resources (time, money, etc.), so it depends on how long your game is (and therefore how large of a margin for error you have).

Re: Value is created by doing

#19

Post by tel »

natural219 wrote: post #11

All advice is a two-way street. I think at this point, the proverbial "advice market" is saturated with this idea that "doing" is far superior to "thinking". This is because, traditionally, hackers tend to lie squarely on the "thinking too much" end of the spectrum. I'm interested to read at least one post on the opposite advice -- what happens when you're too heavy on the "doing" end of the spectrum? Are there examp…

I think it's very easy to get into a mode of selling something that cannot scale. If it's genuinely valuable to the customer you might be able to figure it out, but if you cannot somehow get LTV - CoCA positive then you will die painfully.

Re: Value is created by doing

#20

Post by skybrian »

jmathai wrote: post #4

I realize this is pointed out in the original post but it's important to state for those of us who only read comments and headlines. The longer I do this the more I believe that value isn't created by doing. It's created by selling. As hackers and engineers the idea of "creating value by doing" resonates with us. We're happy to hole up in a dark room and create. It feels great. Wish I could do that for the rest of my…

The way I'd put it is that software only matters when someone is using it and getting something they want out of it. Its value starts at zero on release and increases when you get more customers to use it. (Assuming it's not a complete misfeature.)
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