Thread by @alexandrosM

When you have a truly new idea, you *will* get pushback solely because the idea is new or different. While you should heed other feedback, you should immediately discard this kind. It exists only to stop you. It is so predictable I can list it without even knowing the idea: 🧵

"if it's so good, why isn't everyone doing it already?"

This implies that everyone is looking for great ideas and adopting them as fast as possible. But if everyone assumes it of everyone else, and treats absence of adoption as evidence of fatal flaws, who will do any adopting?

"We've been doing things this way for ever. Why change?"

Because leaving improvement on the table is creating ever expanding vacuum for a competitor to step into and crush you. And because on some level if you're doing worse than what's possible, you're failing your customers.

"The idea will take a long time to get right"

The harder it is to make, the more valuable it is. So instead of whining, get going.

"The idea isn't as full featured or refined as the mature alternatives".

Correct, but the mature alternatives didn't start mature either. It's insane to compare a solution with a ton of room for improvement, with one that's exhausted its potential, other than increments.

"How do you know it will work?"

You don't. But if you're trying ideas that have potential to improve things by 10X, even if one in ten succeeds, you're still far ahead compared to looking for tiny improvements. Also, failures can still teach you things.

"is anyone else interested in this?"

No, because they all ask stupid questions like this.

"if we adopt this approach, we'll need to fire people who will be no longer needed"

Totally acceptable to make stuff more expensive as a jobs program, and with terminal confusion on priorities like this, you'll soon be firing everyone anyway, when a competitor scoops you.

"The idea will require deep reorganization of our company, and certain managers will have to lose resources, which they won't react kindly to. Love your idea but we can't adopt it"

Kodak sends its regards.

"I've asked several experts in the matter and they told me it can't possibly work".

Impossibility claims have an incredibly high bar that almost nobody ever meets. They're probably saying they can't imagine how it might work, which is a different claim.

https://twitter.com/crentsch/status/1401589812013023236?s=20

"Sounds promising but we can't afford to invest in new things right now"

Invest in a casket?

"Sounds promising but we don't have the right skillset to go in that direction"

Now that you know your hiring is also screwed, what are you going to do about it? Nothing? Right.

"Hundreds of years of evolution by the greatest minds of each generation have resulted in an incredibly refined set of practices. You're saying you can do better? Isn't that arrogant?"

https://twitter.com/alexandrosM/status/1314383367031287809?s=20

"Sounds promising, but while it will make our product better, it won't make a difference on our key metrics"

Invest in a casket.

"Sounds promising, but while it will make our product better, it won't make a difference to our quarterly earnings anytime soon"

And if we keep going that way, by the time it would have made a difference, we'll be out of business so who cares.

"Didn't so and so try this before and it ended up in disaster?"

If only Steve Jobs had applied this genius way of thinking before embarking on building the iPad. Had nobody told him that Bill tried and failed to do a tablet? Such waste of resources.