Author Safi Bahcall introduced the term “loonshots” to describe ventures with game-changing potential that nobody thought would work and whose champions were ridiculed.
I wonder how many ideas are really loony and discarded vs. the percentage of great ones, and worse yet, how many great ideas went into the loony bin and were lost, maybe forever, that could have changed the course of history? Would we have had radar if the scientist didn't go into the cockpit et al. I also wonder if the inventors at 3M or Amazon or others participate in the results of their great discoveries or inventions even though their ideas were developed on the company dime. Great article, Great learning for me, Great mind opening. Thank you.
I especially enjoyed this article. The WWII story about the radar underscores the importance of putting yourself in the customer's shoes and that the UX should never be an afterthought. The champion for any idea needs a thick skin to deal with the ridicule or else recognize that those who ridicule often lack creativity themselves. A reminder that if you're really convicted about something, hang in there!
I wonder how many ideas are really loony and discarded vs. the percentage of great ones, and worse yet, how many great ideas went into the loony bin and were lost, maybe forever, that could have changed the course of history? Would we have had radar if the scientist didn't go into the cockpit et al. I also wonder if the inventors at 3M or Amazon or others participate in the results of their great discoveries or inventions even though their ideas were developed on the company dime. Great article, Great learning for me, Great mind opening. Thank you.
I especially enjoyed this article. The WWII story about the radar underscores the importance of putting yourself in the customer's shoes and that the UX should never be an afterthought. The champion for any idea needs a thick skin to deal with the ridicule or else recognize that those who ridicule often lack creativity themselves. A reminder that if you're really convicted about something, hang in there!