Skip to main content

Avoid Being The Ice Harvester - Don't Drive Your Life Looking Backwards

It is human nature to fear the unknown and be very comfortable with the known but the times are such that to grow, you would need to constantly expand your comfort zone and explore unknowns ... This is a great story which illustrates this .....
In the late 1800s there was a thriving ice industry in the Northeastern part of the US. Companies would cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds and sell them around the world. The largest single shipment was 200 tons that was shipped to India. 100 tons got there un-melted, but this was enough to make a profit.
These ice harvesters, however, were put out of business by companies that invented mechanical ice makers. It was no longer necessary to cut and ship ice because companies could make it in any city during any season.
These ice makers, however, were put out of business by refrigerator companies. If it was convenient to make ice at a manufacturing plant, imagine how much better it was to make ice and create cold storage in everyone’s home.
You would think that the ice harvesters would see the advantages of ice making and adopt this technology. However, all they could think about was the known: better cutting saws, better storage solutions for the ice, better transportation.
Then you would think that the ice makers would see the advantages of refrigerators and adopt this technology. The truth is that the ice harvesters could not embrace the unknown and think forward.
Challenge the known and embrace the unknown, or you will be like the ice harvester and ice makers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2017 has started off and it is the time for writing up your new year resolutions ... and NO, I am NOT going to bore you with advice and other perspective but just going to give you a succinct list of possible things you can think about as you make your way through 2017 ....hope this helps ... Surround yourself with people you truly enjoy being in the company of and stop being judgemental (including yourself), choose being happy over being right Say ‘thank you’, Smile more and be kind Be comfortable with silence and listen to understand, not to respond or retort Prioritize yourself and procrastinate only when absolutely essential Be Mindful - Feel your breath Hope you can think through and make these subtle adjustments ... Have a good 2017 Stay blessed ...

Is Being Creative a Problem ? ....The watchout

There is a great possibility that ideas could be destroying your organization. Puzzled? Join the gang as I was too until I read the article creativity in not enough. Ideas for the sake of ideas without rigorous implementation models and follow up lead to organizational chaos.  Typically successful ideation models have proven to be successful when the organization insider, the apparent conformist has driven an idea through evaluation, implementation and follow up.  This Harvard Business Review article is a thought provoking article on this topic ... Here is the synopis of the article ....

How do you value your potential IT investment ?

Decisions need data and analysis and the ability to make the right decisions, especially in resource intensive sectors like IT are posing an interesting challenge. The difference between a right decision and the wrong decision could run into thousands of dollars or more and added to that the net cost of the investment gone wrong in terms of business inefficiencies and business lost. Some key questions which typically arise are Value (including “intangible” benefits)?  Risk Management How do I know whether one IT investment is “better” than another (IT or otherwise)?      How do I know when to stop analyzing, accept some risk, and make a decision?   How do I know viability of approach ?         Applied Information Economics (AIE) is the practical application of mathematical models and scientific measurements in order to optimize decisions in uncertain  investment environments. In IT, measuring wha...