Monday, February 7th, 2011 at 09:53
According to Warren Buffet there is a “natural progression” to how good ideas go wrong. Enter ‘The three Is’:
In a 2008 conversation with Charlie Rose entitled, ‘Should wise people have known better?’ (Re: the global recession), Buffet remarks:
First come the innovators, who see opportunities that others don’t and champion new ideas that create genuine value. Then come the imitators, who copy what the innovators have done. Sometimes they improve on the original idea, often they tarnish it. Last come the idiots, whose avarice undermines the very innovations they are trying to exploit.
The imitators (and idiots) remind me of something Oscar Wilde said:
Most people are other people. Their thoughts someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
The internet’s Dustin Curtis, has his own modern day business related take on Wilde’s century-old insight:
Most companies are other companies. Their products are an imitation, their visions are a reaction, their passions are a mimicry.
Mimicry that “improve(s) on the original idea” is fine in my book; blatant plagiarism/thievery of concepts are not. I’m also wary of the constant quest for ‘innovation’ in our sector. Often these efforts center around problems that don’t *really* exist.
Don’t tarnish. Don’t exploit. Don’t partake in faux-innovation. Make your efforts count.
(Via: Bobulate)
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