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It seems like Bill Gates didn't want to believe. From an anecdote about Marc Porat and General Magic [1]: >Eventually you won’t really need a PC, because all y

It seems like Bill Gates didn't want to believe. From an anecdote about Marc Porat and General Magic [1]: >Eventually you won’t really need a PC, because all your work will be in a sort of cloud.” >Suddenly there was an explosion from across the table. “MARC, THAT’S FUCKING BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!” It was Gates. To go all in they would have had to kill the PC. In the same way, MS didn't embrace browsers and the Internet for a long time. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17667776 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17667776

candiodari 8y ago
Nobody gets to upper management in an established company, ESPECIALLY not in sales, by using their own judgement to override everyone else's. No matter how right they may be. If you want that sort of position, burying your own ideas deep and hide them in shame (use them to impress interns if you must) is the only way to go.
- kamaal 8y ago
  That's where Steve Jobs was really so better than everybody else. One should never be afraid to put what's behind, and start again on something new. This thing is often repeated in case of failures, but I've realized this is even more so true in terms of success. Success is harder to put behind and start over. The big part of this is 'continuity'. If something works well, you are tempted to take the next obvious steps in the process. And you should. But after while its not hard to see that you are max'ing out the net utility you could extract out of it. At that point, one must stop, relook and not be afraid to start on something all over again. Also this is so very true at an individual level as well. Never stop having a life. So many sports people retire between 35 - 40, then their whole life falls apart. This is also true with people have some early career success, I have seen endless examples of people reaching career peak by 30 - 35 and then everything falls apart, may be because they lucked out, but largely because they just can't start again. You have to start with a new purpose when you come to an end of an existing path. Or time is expensive, and it shows your loss sooner or later.

candiodari 8y ago

Nobody gets to upper management in an established company, ESPECIALLY not in sales, by using their own judgement to override everyone else's. No matter how right they may be. If you want that sort of position, burying your own ideas deep and hide them in shame (use them to impress interns if you must) is the only way to go.

kamaal 8y ago
That's where Steve Jobs was really so better than everybody else. One should never be afraid to put what's behind, and start again on something new. This thing is often repeated in case of failures, but I've realized this is even more so true in terms of success. Success is harder to put behind and start over. The big part of this is 'continuity'. If something works well, you are tempted to take the next obvious steps in the process. And you should. But after while its not hard to see that you are max'ing out the net utility you could extract out of it. At that point, one must stop, relook and not be afraid to start on something all over again. Also this is so very true at an individual level as well. Never stop having a life. So many sports people retire between 35 - 40, then their whole life falls apart. This is also true with people have some early career success, I have seen endless examples of people reaching career peak by 30 - 35 and then everything falls apart, may be because they lucked out, but largely because they just can't start again. You have to start with a new purpose when you come to an end of an existing path. Or time is expensive, and it shows your loss sooner or later.