Monday, October 10, 2022

Repetition is as important as it is popular. The most popular topics are often paraphrased or reworked to emphasize something that is already known or accepted. But even when we come across new or innovative ideas, they are inspired from past events and external influences. Rarely do we acknowledge the fundamentals that shape the foundation of innovation. Fundamentals are boring, but boring is effective, and often simple.

The space race of the 1960’s tracked the progress of two power-houses of the time: the United States and Soviet Union. Both countries were competing to launch the first satellites, and eventually people, into orbit as these feats demonstrated an ideology of technological and military advantages that ensured national security and a reputation of sophistication. But this legendary pursuit of other-worldly exploration was accompanied by some legendary quirks too.

The story goes that when NASA discovered that pens do not work in space, the US spent years and millions of dollars to design a pen that would work, while the Russians simply gave their cosmonauts pencils.

After further reading, I found out that this was a myth. Both countries tried using pencils. Designing a new pen was only necessary when the US noticed that pencils would break and pieces of lead and wood were floating around. This was a threat to the safety and operations of the crew and their instruments. But I like the witty lesson that the story provides. Sometimes it is better to a pencil. Instead of assuming that the US needed to innovate from a blank slate, could they have designed a pencil that did not break? Could they have found other ways of communicating in cheaper, more efficient ways? I wonder if millions of dollars and years of research were truly necessary for recreating the simple act of writing. The necessity of such extensive “innovation” comes into question when we realize they were trying to recreate a cheap task that has existed for thousands of years.

People tend to undervalue the power of what we already know without realizing that knowing is different than doing. Most of us know we are supposed to invest money, eat healthy, and practice positive things to make our lives better. We see constant reminders to invest in the S&P 500 Index Fund, to workout regularly, to brush and floss daily, and to learn new things. But knowing that we should do these things does not mean we actually do them.

When we want to feel accomplished and submit our best work, it is easy to think we have to start from scratch. It can feel like more work but the rewards are often greater, right? The best chocolate chip cookies are homemade. “I don’t know what she does, but nobody makes them as good as my mom.” The best business pitches are innovative and creative because new ideas will generate interest and buy-in. However, there are countless examples of creation, big and small, that drive progress. They come from consistency. They come from reiteration, not origination.

We often assume that new solutions are better than old ones. If we want to see real change or progress, we need to spend years and millions of dollars to redesign tasks or objects in new environments or for new goals. On this chilly Monday, I am promoting an embrace of the boring. What can you commit to consistently, without alteration, that leads to progress constantly?