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I beg to disagree, I think it's a really bad analogy. First, businesses are unique in many areas. Opening a restaurant is different than opening a book store. S

I beg to disagree, I think it's a really bad analogy. First, businesses are unique in many areas. Opening a restaurant is different than opening a book store. Second, in business, there are people involved. In sales, in production, in customer support and people are unique. While in driving, every car in the world feels and looks the same.

ibisum 15y ago
Businesses are unique, essentially chaotic systems of directed flow, a very distinct kind of measurable energy, and the point of this is that life, individually and as part of a group energetic activity, is actually about control. If you cannot feel as in-control of your business as you are with your car, then you should compare the two a little and perhaps adjust. Why not? It works. The level of competence to drive a car is a different kind of energy, sure, but the overall position that one must learn to drive, by driving, is broadly applicable to the subject of energy in the first place.
swombat 15y ago
But opening a restaurant is similar to opening a restaurant. Given that there are many people who have opened restaurants before, it is obviously reasonable to get some advice from them before opening your first restaurant (though I'm sure many restaurant owners fail to do that). Startups are no doubt more varied and unpredictable, but there are still a lot of commonalities. Unlike driving, a startup mentor won't sit in the driving seat and do it for you, but their advice can prove invaluable, because once you're experienced enough, many aspects of business do look the same across all or most businesses.
gregw100 15y ago
To sharpen the analogy, maybe each type of business is like a certain type of car or sport. You should learn the relevant skills before diving in. Driving a Geo is different than driving a Ferrari, but they're still both cars.

ibisum 15y ago

Businesses are unique, essentially chaotic systems of directed flow, a very distinct kind of measurable energy, and the point of this is that life, individually and as part of a group energetic activity, is actually about control. If you cannot feel as in-control of your business as you are with your car, then you should compare the two a little and perhaps adjust. Why not? It works. The level of competence to drive a car is a different kind of energy, sure, but the overall position that one must learn to drive, by driving, is broadly applicable to the subject of energy in the first place.

swombat 15y ago

But opening a restaurant is similar to opening a restaurant. Given that there are many people who have opened restaurants before, it is obviously reasonable to get some advice from them before opening your first restaurant (though I'm sure many restaurant owners fail to do that). Startups are no doubt more varied and unpredictable, but there are still a lot of commonalities. Unlike driving, a startup mentor won't sit in the driving seat and do it for you, but their advice can prove invaluable, because once you're experienced enough, many aspects of business do look the same across all or most businesses.

gregw100 15y ago

To sharpen the analogy, maybe each type of business is like a certain type of car or sport. You should learn the relevant skills before diving in. Driving a Geo is different than driving a Ferrari, but they're still both cars.