Yes twitter is absolutely creative distruction. A great title for a post but it should be embraced, not hated or feared, in order to profit
fortune8
· 7 months ago
Funny because in my line of work, FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) (learned that from someone very smart) often arises for new technology. The only way to remove it is to try it.
hardaway
· 7 months ago
You've started discussing a very difficult subject here. It has two parts. One is fear of failure and the other is forgetting the interconnectedness of all things. My partner once told me a story he heard about pilots and negative target fixation. If, as a pilot, you concentrate on the tree and keep saying to yourself, "don't hit the tree," chances are you will hit the tree. Concentrating on fear of failure brings failure. A yoga teacher (not Ian) once said," what you look upon grows." Where you place your concentration is where you get your result. That's part one. Fear of failure generates failure. Second part: not realizing your partners could implode and ignoring the potential for collateral damage. Oh boy, that's what I see happening today all around me. The commercial real estate guys thought only residential was in trouble. The residential guys thought it was only sub-prime mortgages. But of course the Buddhists figured it out 5000 years ago, and the quantum physicists have just codified it: energy cannot be created nor destroyed, and all things are connected in both time and space. Jeez, how did you get me started on THIS???
trustnone
· 7 months ago
That sounds like Deepak Chopra. You been reading ;)
ZenProfit
· 7 months ago
All of you people are downers, so early on a Saturday morning. Get outside and smell the damn roses. You are right Howard, Twittering sucks. Long live StockTwits. $$
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
I am misunderstood :)
Mark Collier
· 7 months ago
I always knew you were a Buddhist Howard.
jworthy
· 7 months ago
Good luck rediscovering your passion for the blog. I have really enjoyed reading it over the last few months.
I think you are quite right in that your awareness and reflection on past mistakes will help you avoid them again. The part that feels the best to me is the idea that one needs to catch and attend to mistakes while they are small rather than deal with the momentous snowball that results. For me at least, it's far too easy to say "I'll worry about that later"
Sachmo
· 7 months ago
life is full of downer moments. Anticipate them, and ride them out.
Also got a book I recommend ~ The Alchemist.
Sam Huleatt
· 7 months ago
Howard - this is the best insight I've read in a long time and it puts a great perspective on a current situation. Thanks man; you're a rock star.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
Thanks much
joankw
· 7 months ago
Thanks for staring this Howard. Everyone likes to talk about their successes - but few are brave enough to talk about their failures openly.
ZenProfit called this discussion a downer - but I disagree. Instead I see this as opening up the possiblities for solutions. History shows us that some of the biggest failures - in business and in life - have learned from the experience of failing and move on to great success. When I listen to someone say they have never failed, I get worried. They obviously still have a lot to learn.
Today, collateral damage is all around us. Lost jobs, a financial industry still on shaky ground, and an automotive industry that has moved from a position of world dominence to disaster. The collateral damage to the employees of those companies, their supply chain partners, and their distribution networks is staggering. Yesterday a thousand car dealers learned that the partner they relied on is a partner no more. Some of these businesses span generations and the collateral damage includes not just the business, but their employees, their customers, and the communities that they have long supported.
Most of these busineses will not survive - but a some will learn from this failure - come up with a new way to serve their customers - and rebuild to grow again.
Fortune8 mentions Schumpeter's model of Creative Destruction. As an economist I have always thought the name misleading. In the model, new products or innovations that create more value replace those that have less. Each company that is displaced has the opportunity to rise again if they learn from their failures and focus on a new strategy for value creation and rejoi the cycle.
Thanks for reminding us to take the time to look at our failures - to learn from them - and to move forward.
Brian Wilson
· 7 months ago
"I have not fully adjusted to the different styles required from ‘real time’ notes and blogging. For me at least, there is a big difference and I am thinking hard about how to adjust and get the passion back for writing and blogging."
Howard, you are absolutely right about the statement above. So embrace the idea and don't get lost in it. Here's what I mean:
Short, timely thoughts are exactly what Twitter is for. A quick idea, an easy trade or you need a quick answer. Fine. You know this.
Blogging is for one idea as well, but it is a place where you can add thought, reasoning, ponder. It is even a place to pontificate and expound. No need to be limited by 140 characters.
At the same time, we don't always necessarily have to say great things every day. So you should not get caught up in the fact that you don't blog everyday. You don't have to write EVERY day. We won't forget about you if you don't.
Personally, I don't twitter yet because I don't want to get caught up in the minutia, I want to think about the deep thoughts. I use my reader to follow about 20 brilliant people, of which you are one. I love to hear what the intelligent people are thinking. That's why I read your blog. Keep up the great work.
"Failure" is another subject, but all I have to say about that is at least you have the balls to put it out there.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
Thx brian
ivanhoff
· 7 months ago
Playing it safe is the new dangerous. The obvious rarely happens and the unexpected constantly occurs. People are wired to like new, different stuff and that's why disruption of the ordinary has been the most successful strategy in any field.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
Safe is the new dangerous. Consider that stolen. Sorry.
Yeah, didn't mean to sound negative or even to call your post a downer... I couldn't agree more with others, understanding failure is one path to success. Introspection is important.
But sometimes the only way to catch the crest of a wave is to soldier through the troughs. Let nothing deter your fighting spirit. Like a kickboxer who repeatedly deadens his nerves in anticipation of a fight, prepare yourself mentally for adversity. This is only the beginning, round 1.
Make this market / start-up / whatever your own.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
I like the new voices on my blog. Thx
Fly
· 7 months ago
COMING SOON....
"The Fly" Meets Monseigneur Maralbo at Mexican Bowling Alley (4 stars).
ZenProfit
· 7 months ago
Is The Fly even allowed to post from Mexico?
Doesn't that violate NAFTA?
Bruce
· 7 months ago
Safe is the new dangerous? I don't know, maybe I don't get what you are saying but, there are times when it is ok to play it safe. Unless I have been reading Howard wrong the past few months, playing it safe is the main thing I have taken away from this blog and it has saved me a ton of grief. I have missed Howard's posts lately, glad to see him back.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
we are in agreement bruce, i just like the term for a title.
ivanhoff
· 7 months ago
Bruce, you should try to look behind the lines of the expression "safe is the new dangerous". Safe is considered the status quo, the general consensus of the public - if you follow it, it won't get you too far in any business field, including investing. For example, look at the market performance of the so called safe, defensive plays - high yielding tobacco, utilities, health care stocks. They send to grave multiple portfolios during the past year and a half. What is generally considered risky - the innovative, disruptive thinking is actually safer than what is considered safe by the masses, if that means anything for you.
brucebanister
· 7 months ago
I assume that anyone reading this blog has looked far behind the lines. I have been only 5% invested for the past two years. As I am not a trader I am waiting for opportunities in my business or for capitulation in the market. Of course, I agree with you that much of what has been touted as safe has not been but, it I don't think that is anything new.
jason Liske
· 7 months ago
Twitter means zilch to me as none of my clients twitter. They pay me for what I do for them, not what - or if - I twitter. Maybe happy clients will twitter for me?
Not sure when twitter gets personal for me - I am web 1.0 and loving it.
William Mougayar
· 7 months ago
I often wondered how you juggle being a vc, entrepreneur,trader/fund manager, blogger and active in social media/Twitter. It's not easy. Scoble's 15-year old son said "I'm not like my dad, I don't have a web site." Scoble adds "This is from a 15-year-old who is very expert with world of warcraft, has a MySpace page, a Twitter account, a friendfeed account, is very active on Mac Rumors, etc" There's something going on about participating in social media and neglecting a website/blog. I must have added 20 comments in places I care about this past week + FF & Twitter entries, and I didn't do a blog post I wanted to. Eventually, it will balance out.
howardlindzon
· 7 months ago
True. The key is to not stress about it. I have been and won't anymore
All Comments
Twitter may be consider as creative destruction.
Just to share a few thoughts and should take you 3 seconds to read it.
http://fade-me.blogspot.com/2009/05/weekend-edi...
My partner once told me a story he heard about pilots and negative target fixation. If, as a pilot, you concentrate on the tree and keep saying to yourself, "don't hit the tree," chances are you will hit the tree. Concentrating on fear of failure brings failure. A yoga teacher (not Ian) once said," what you look upon grows." Where you place your concentration is where you get your result. That's part one. Fear of failure generates failure.
Second part: not realizing your partners could implode and ignoring the potential for collateral damage. Oh boy, that's what I see happening today all around me. The commercial real estate guys thought only residential was in trouble. The residential guys thought it was only sub-prime mortgages. But of course the Buddhists figured it out 5000 years ago, and the quantum physicists have just codified it: energy cannot be created nor destroyed, and all things are connected in both time and space.
Jeez, how did you get me started on THIS???
I think you are quite right in that your awareness and reflection on past mistakes will help you avoid them again. The part that feels the best to me is the idea that one needs to catch and attend to mistakes while they are small rather than deal with the momentous snowball that results. For me at least, it's far too easy to say "I'll worry about that later"
Also got a book I recommend ~ The Alchemist.
ZenProfit called this discussion a downer - but I disagree. Instead I see this as opening up the possiblities for solutions. History shows us that some of the biggest failures - in business and in life - have learned from the experience of failing and move on to great success. When I listen to someone say they have never failed, I get worried. They obviously still have a lot to learn.
Today, collateral damage is all around us. Lost jobs, a financial industry still on shaky ground, and an automotive industry that has moved from a position of world dominence to disaster. The collateral damage to the employees of those companies, their supply chain partners, and their distribution networks is staggering. Yesterday a thousand car dealers learned that the partner they relied on is a partner no more. Some of these businesses span generations and the collateral damage includes not just the business, but their employees, their customers, and the communities that they have long supported.
Most of these busineses will not survive - but a some will learn from this failure - come up with a new way to serve their customers - and rebuild to grow again.
Fortune8 mentions Schumpeter's model of Creative Destruction. As an economist I have always thought the name misleading. In the model, new products or innovations that create more value replace those that have less. Each company that is displaced has the opportunity to rise again if they learn from their failures and focus on a new strategy for value creation and rejoi the cycle.
Thanks for reminding us to take the time to look at our failures - to learn from them - and to move forward.
Howard, you are absolutely right about the statement above. So embrace the idea and don't get lost in it. Here's what I mean:
Short, timely thoughts are exactly what Twitter is for. A quick idea, an easy trade or you need a quick answer. Fine. You know this.
Blogging is for one idea as well, but it is a place where you can add thought, reasoning, ponder. It is even a place to pontificate and expound. No need to be limited by 140 characters.
At the same time, we don't always necessarily have to say great things every day. So you should not get caught up in the fact that you don't blog everyday. You don't have to write EVERY day. We won't forget about you if you don't.
Personally, I don't twitter yet because I don't want to get caught up in the minutia, I want to think about the deep thoughts. I use my reader to follow about 20 brilliant people, of which you are one. I love to hear what the intelligent people are thinking. That's why I read your blog. Keep up the great work.
"Failure" is another subject, but all I have to say about that is at least you have the balls to put it out there.
People are wired to like new, different stuff and that's why disruption of the ordinary has been the most successful strategy in any field.
But sometimes the only way to catch the crest of a wave is to soldier through the troughs. Let nothing deter your fighting spirit. Like a kickboxer who repeatedly deadens his nerves in anticipation of a fight, prepare yourself mentally for adversity. This is only the beginning, round 1.
Make this market / start-up / whatever your own.
"The Fly" Meets Monseigneur Maralbo at Mexican Bowling Alley (4 stars).
Doesn't that violate NAFTA?
you should try to look behind the lines of the expression "safe is the new dangerous". Safe is considered the status quo, the general consensus of the public - if you follow it, it won't get you too far in any business field, including investing. For example, look at the market performance of the so called safe, defensive plays - high yielding tobacco, utilities, health care stocks. They send to grave multiple portfolios during the past year and a half. What is generally considered risky - the innovative, disruptive thinking is actually safer than what is considered safe by the masses, if that means anything for you.
Not sure when twitter gets personal for me - I am web 1.0 and loving it.
Scoble's 15-year old son said "I'm not like my dad, I don't have a web site." Scoble adds "This is from a 15-year-old who is very expert with world of warcraft, has a MySpace page, a Twitter account, a friendfeed account, is very active on Mac Rumors, etc"
There's something going on about participating in social media and neglecting a website/blog. I must have added 20 comments in places I care about this past week + FF & Twitter entries, and I didn't do a blog post I wanted to. Eventually, it will balance out.
http://tweetingtoohard.com/