Flying Cars

Why is it that we are so fixated on marginal improvements in our lives. I came across a story in the Register this past week that reminded me of the tunnel vision we often have of the future. The story is a tongue in cheek bit on a "real" flying car. It's comforting to know that there are other people who find the humor in this. A flying car is only a marginal improvement to the car, but is fundamentally the same solution to the transportation problem. One of my favorite quotes of all time is "If I had built what everyone wanted, I would have built a better horse." from Henry Ford. The truth is that we have the ability to think outside the margins as children, but sadly, it gets "educated" out of us, and we grow up to be reasonable adults. I wish everyone would be a little less reasonable. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are like a characters in a high school horror movie who step through a broken door. You know there's a guy in there with chainsaw, but no matter how much you scream at them to stop, they keep going. Not even a flying car is going to save them. Not even an electric car for that matter.

Abstract Thought is a Practiced Skill

While starting a new organization, there's a lot of abstract ideas that need to be discussed and agreed upon. In fact, where there is any concept that exists outside of our norms, there is very little tangible stuff to talk about. What were the discussions like during the framing of the United States Democracy? How did Henry Ford explain his assembly line to investors? Think about that. How would you explain an assembly line to somebody who had never seen or heard the idea before? I think most people dislike abstraction. The required skills to deal with intangible thought take time and effort to learn. For most people these days, I think the effort is really not worth it. That's a tragedy. But, how can we avoid talking about things that do not yet exist without talking about the intangible? In my experience over the last 6 weeks, it is not possible, or even desirable to do so. We must grapple with abstraction if we ever hope to innovate. That does not mean we need to be way out in orbit either. To make an idea into reality takes people. It takes people who understand the idea, and who believe in it enough to make it happen. An idea that is not effectively communicated, is a dead one. Don't give up hope yet. There are simple tools available to us that we have been using for thousands of years to pass important intangible information.

• Stories.
• Parables.
• Scenarios.

Take the recent efforts of the new Obama administration during their first 30 days in office. Their initiatives are bold, they are well thought out, and yet they continue to elicit cries of protests from our citizens. "Where are the details?!", "It makes no common sense!", "Exactly how do you plan to do this?!", "It's never been done like that before!" The early initiatives of the new president are different, and need I say, innovative. Any long term failure they suffer will not come from the substance of theses initiatives, but from innefectively communicating complex and intangible ideas. It's too bad that the Obama administration failed to do this, but it is a tragedy that such a large percentage of Amercan people have not been exposed to abstract thought processes. So, get out there and grab a book, find articles, and most of all, learn to craft stories, parables, and scenarios to effectively communicate your ideas. Dealing with abstraction is a learned skill. It takes practice and patience to get good at it. But, stick with it, because there's a whole new world out there just waiting for us when we get it.