“I was thinking about my product roadmap and got a bit discouraged. When I looked at what I was doing, I saw how many other people were doing the same thing.”
That’s what one of the coolest, most unique, and talented people I know just said on a Lift Off implementation call. I felt what she was saying — it’s something that comes up for me when the 9 o’Clock Terrors are having their way with me, too.
iPods and French Fries
Had Apple said the same thing, they would have missed the boat with the iPod. Every major electronics manufacturer was in the market and had their own thing, but none of them were the iPod.
I can’t even imagine how many restaurants and food service businesses in America serve French fries. Sure, a restaurateur might consider how serving fries fits with the ethos of the restaurant, but the fact that so many other restaurants serve fries isn’t a good reason to not serve fries.
If we cast a broad gaze, we’d see that everything we might want to do has already been done before. How many authors have there been? How many graphic designers? How many coaches? How many restauranteurs? Teachers? Politicians? Musicians?
Unless you’re Neil Armstrong, someone has already done what you’re doing or want to do. If utter novelty is what you’re after, you’ve already lost.
But I Have an Awesome Idea!
So does someone else.
The history of innovation shows that even if you’re coming up with an entirely new way of thinking, there’s someone else who’s on the cusp of that breakthrough. Isaac Newton or Gottfried Liebniz independently developed calculus, just as Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace did with natural selection. Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the solar system? First proposed by Philolaus 2,000 years before ole’ Nick was born.
So, even if you’re about to change the world with your idea, fretting about it too long means that whoever else is thinking about it has time to do it before you.
Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming. If you follow too closely with what everyone else is doing, it’ll be hard for you to stand out. If you spend all your time developing the perfect Next Best Thing, someone else will beat you to the punch. (Or you’ll come up with a Google Wave, but that’s a conversation for another day.)
Service Trumps Novelty
Rather than thinking about how new your thing is, think about how it solves someone’s problems or meets their desires better than what’s currently available. Does it address the question people keep asking you over and over again? Does it remove that one stupid step that drives everyone crazy? Does it explain an idea in a way that helps someone who’s been struggling to get it?
Doing your best work neither requires you to selfishly do whatever you most want to do nor to be a lifelong martyr in service to other people’s needs. It’s as if we all have some kind of tree that we’re somehow wired to enjoy planting. Your best work uniquely serves you by planting that tree and by the fruit it yields while simultaneously serving others by your doing so.
Countless interviews with people doing their best work bear out this strange phenomenon. Whether it’s soldiers who couldn’t imagine being anything else, nonprofit leaders who have dedicated years to advancing their causes, artists are continually surprised that the work they love to create benefits others, or business leaders who wake up in the morning creating organizations worth being a part of, in each case there’s no either / or perspective about ho’s being served by the work they’re doing. That’s all.
If you’re opening up a restaurant that serves American-style food, you probably better serve fries. If you want to innovate, come up with a unique dipping sauce or a way of preparing them so that they consistently have a crunchy-awesome texture. Better yet, leave the fries alone and come up with a one-of-a-kind dessert since that’s what more people will remember anyway.
By all means, let’s innovate, but let’s stay focused on what matters: solving people’s problems, meeting their needs, and generating value.
But let’s get past starting and on to finishing. The world needs what you create! If you’re stuck or don’t know how to make that happen, grab a copy of Start Finishing. It’s your roadmap to get your best work from idea to done.
Thank you for this bit of perspective. It’s so easy to get caught up in looking at what other people are doing and then comparing. It’s also deceptive on the internet, where we tend to follow a lot of people in similar businesses. It can look like there’s a life coach or a web designer on every corner.
I’ve been (gasp!) leaving my house lately and attending “in person” networking meetings. Most of the people I met aren’t on Twitter. And there were surprisingly few (1!) life coaches. And not a single “internet marketer” or “social media expert.”
It’s a big world out there.
Gasp!
You left your office?! How dare you go out in the world and meet real people. Please, please stay in the echo chamber with us. :p
I’m so happy to hear that you’re seeing how big the world is.
This is timely for me too (as usual!). Thanks, Charlie.
Today I had some anxiety around how much I don’t know about a subject. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to get there and be on the same level as the other people already there.
And then I thought to myself, “You know, that’s kind of silly. You got where you are now by doing things your own way. Why are you going to regret that now?”
My favoritist part of your post: “service trumps novelty”. Yes!!
Good to hear that it helped, Naomi! Sounds like some of the conversations we’ve had in the past, no? :p
Another great post Charlie.
If a great idea really solves people’s problems and gets them what they want, then there should be plenty of room for you and others in the marketplace.
Some people will prefer you, some this person, some that. If there are five or ten or twenty people offering a similar product, each with its own flavor and appeal, then that’s good for everyone.
And now I can’t remember the amazing book I read a few years ago on how clusters of organizations form in geographic areas. All of the car dealers are in one spot, the jewelers in another, and fast food joints (all serving french fries) in a third. Having these concentrations helps an area become known for those kinds of products and services. There’ve been jewelry shops on Ponte Vecchio in Florence for centuries.
If you’re creating something that’s starting to appear elsewhere, it’s probably because you’re clicked in to a strain of thought that’s taking hold.
And that said, I have the “I don’t want to do what someone else has done” gripe as well–a challenge for the original thinker. I’ve heard an interview with the author of
Where Good Ideas Come From
and think that covers a lot of this ground.
Great comment, Barak. I’m currently reading “Where Good Ideas Come From” and it’s really reinforcing some ideas I’ve been carrying around for a while. Funny how many of these ideas came up for me 8 years ago when I was studying the philosophy of science. Study any field long enough and you’ll see convergence all over the place.
Just a bunch of patterns in our brains!
I’m looking forward to reading the book as well.
I was so gripped by those same terrors earlier in the week, so I really appreciate this post! What snapped me out of it was leading one of my group calls last night and hearing people get the concepts I was teaching.
For my Right People, my work makes a difference, and that’s more than enough to light me up each morning!
Funny how just showing up for your people has that therapeutic effect, no? :p
Charlie, you rock my world. Thank you for your wisdom on the call and bringing it home again in this post.
I feel like walking around shouting “I AM AN IPOD!” Too bad nobody would know what the heck I’m talking about 😛
You’re welcome, Z. You are an iPod – who cares if nobody would know what you’re talking about. 🙂
Aw, Charlie. You always know just what to say. I too have been very stuck in my sameness. Thanks for the push!
@Patty K: You are so right! Looking at my twitter and my reader, it definitely seems like everyone on the planet is doing what I want to do! Then again, how long did it take me to seek them out? And I get something valuable from all 20+ of them every single day.
Wonderful reality check!
Careful, Laura. Those pushes get stronger with time and proximity. Pretty soon you’ll forget how it feels to need to be pushed.
Charlie,
This is so timely for me, too. Those darn 9 o’clock terrors get me a lot lately. Blasted self doubt.
“By all means, let’s innovate, but let’s stay focused on what matters: solving people’s problems, meeting their needs, and generating value.” — I love that. Thanks for the slap upside the head. 😀
Heather
My goal is to pack as many gentle slaps upside the head into a given paragraph as possible. It’s a wonderful challenge, and thanks for relaying that it’s working, Heather. 🙂
I’ll be writing about my super secret technique for handling the 9 o’clock terrors. Prepare to be underwhelmed!
I always find it so serendipitious (if that’s not a word I just made it one!) when I’m struggling that a light often appears (in this case your post) 🙂 I was just speaking with someone about this very subject as I struggled with a program I’m working on. As you said, there really isn’t any new information, it’s all in your unique approach to conveying and teaching that information. I love how you so eloquently summed up the ‘analysis paralysis’ that tends to grip us entrepreneurs. And extreme service trumps The Next Big Thing every time:-)
Glad to be a light in the darkness, Danielle. It sucks when we can’t see what’s right in front of our faces because of the shadows we conjure.
It’s so true, Charlie. Great ideas always run in packs 🙂
We’re each unique, and my approach will always be different than someone else’s — no matter how time worn the idea. I don’t think we should lose sight of that, but as you point out, our uniqueness only comes into play when we focus on the needs of others.
Isn’t it funny how much our uniqueness depends on others for contrast? I get tired of everyone screaming about individuality when they haven’t considered the necessary dependency on our community for our identity. It’s a balance, but it’s the balance of life.
Great article! I would add one more person to your list – Thomas Edison. Most people think he invented the light bulb but what he did was improve the design so that it was longer lasting and more economical to produce. He also struggled for the rest of his career to spread the popularity of direct current electricity but lost out to alternating current, but that didn’t stop him and his company from going on to be one of the largest companies in the world (General Electric).
Thanks for adding Edison, David. He definitely deserves to be on the list.
Charlie,
Well said and solid advice. Sometime (or usually) hard to implement, but it should be what we strive to do.
I try to remember that everything is relative. Depending on who you compare yourself to you will be either better or worse. It’s the same with ideas and is a losing battle. IGNORE EVERYBODY.
I’m not so sure about the “Ignore Everybody” bit. It’s one pole of innovation, but there’s another. (Yes, I will write about this.) I’m glad to hear this landed with you, though. 🙂
Charlie, well said. I believe that solving people’s problems differently is hard to do.
But solving peoples problems more effectively and with greater attention is east to do.
Creating value is not just about conversion, it’s about building a relationship that benefits the customer before, during, and AFTER the sale.
AFTER is where there is little or no competition to add massive value and build real positive influence.
You get it, Chris. That last sentence is a key insight that’s one of my (non)-secrets.
Charlie,
Entrepreneurships is about finding a need and filling that need. By contrast, comparisons are odious.
Like a cub scout, it is our job to explore our environment.
Ask lots of questions. Be curious. Is there a gap in the marketplace? How can you help fill that void?
If others are already hard at work, bring your own unique flavour to it. And see if that can work in your favour.
If there are a lot of pizza shops in your community, for example, try to innovate.
How about a curry-style pizzaria? With business getting more global, you never know: you just might get clients.
And, for a lot of people, exotic is good.
They’ll trying exotic just for the heck of it, and your innovation may have a positive ROI. It is worth a chance.
Great comment and great examples, Archan!
Hey Charlie
We need to remember that every day we’re already doing something so many others would never dare do – being an entrepreneur is one of the toughest things to be – but also the most rewarding.
We have to be constantly innovating, being more remarkable and evolving. That’s why I love your reference to serving people better as the stand out differentiation.
Zappos get cited over and over but that’s because they compete by providing outstanding customer service.
If you create value to others and make them love you you’re on to a winning formula. It’s all about giving and you’ll receive that love back.
Great post.
Natalie
Charlie – Wow, thanks again for another great post. How gave you permission to camp in my head, anyway? Seriously, this is THE biggest obstacle for everything I want to do. It has stopped me over and over. I can’t hear this enough, so thanks for giving your take.
I’ve wondered about this a lot…and how do you get around this? A lot of good points here…I think emphasizing “how” is also very important and if your products is the same, “how” do you become the best in related fields. “How” can I improve my customer service, “how” can I make my product better/the best? I think incentives also give your product a boost over competitors . I found an incentive from a small business recently that I haven’t found offered by others and I really like the product and will stick with it (http://www.xambox.com). It’s a good company and a good product:)
What a great post. This is the second time I read it. I spent (wasted) a few years trying to find the next best online venture. I learned the hard way to stay focused on streamlining and improving customer service for the business I already have. I’m not reinventing the wheel, but keeping it simple and focusing has helped me a lot. Now I look for new streams of income in my spare time.
Hey Charlie,
I loved your french fry metaphor.
The truth is, there’s billions and trillions of people in the world. To do something no one else has ever done before is nigh impossible.
I like your solution. “Rather than thinking about how new your thing is, think about how it solves someone’s problems or meets their desires better than what’s currently available.”
This way of thinking will get you far, and it will also help you to stop fretting about what everyone else has done and focus more on what you’re going to do.
Great read!