Posted by Ray Cronise on October 18, 2008 at 12:00pm
A few years back the people at Apple Computer asked us to “Think Different.” It was catchy, memorable, and to the point. Steve Jobs and the rest of the creative genius were doing just that - thinking different. Could we ever have envisioned that apple would have sold 22,120,000 ipods in the last quarter of 2007? Twenty two million ipods in a single quarter. That is enough to to supply every man, woman and child in the state of New York and iPod, with enough left over to throw a bonus round to everyone in Kansas.Even though Microsoft was clearly the dominator just a few short years ago, during last quarter 2.5 million macs representing 2-3x the market rate of growth for computers were sold. There are 400,000 Apple retail store visitors a day. 50% of all mac sales are first time mac users. They have out grown the retail market for the last 14 of 15 quarters with retail sales moving from single digit to 17.6% of all U.S. sales. At the same, they are 31.3% of all retail computer revenue….one out of every 3 dollars spent are spent on a mac And, in education they are 39% of unit share in notebooks - surpassing dell. Who might have guessed this could have ever occurred in the shadow of the great Microsoft giant?Am I trying to sell you a mac? honestly yes, but it is more important to sell you on what macs represent: an unbridled commitment to excellence, dedication to innovate, and courage to be different. In 1985, the visionary leader, Steve Jobs, that has fueled this revolution lost a power struggle with the board of directors of Apple and was thrown out. He was brought back in 1997 and has revolutionized not only the computer user experience, but the entire music industry and the mobile phone as well. When Apple is at its best, it is focused on what is profitable and in the consumers best interest. They are unyielding on detail and design. They care not just about the product, but most importantly the entire product experience. By sticking with that and not trying to spread themselves out in 18 different markets, they have created a user experience that so far exceeds any other computer, it is almost a class of it’s own.One of the most influential thinkers in my life is aeronautical maverick, Burt Rutan. He ascribes to the same sort of “think different” mentality. For those that don’t know him, Burt is the genius at scaled composites behind the Voyager that flew nonstop around the world, SpaceShipOne - the worlds first private spaceship, and most recently the partner of Sir Richard Branson in Virgin Galactic that will commercialize space flights for the masses. Burt says, “you got to have confidence in nonsense if you want to innovate.” He realized at a young age every great and innovative idea, when introduced, appeared as nonsense to the majority of population. We can’t fly. We can’t cross the Atlantic. We can’t land man on the moon.It is amazing that the secret is not some mystical wave that permeates the universe with positive thought. It is much more basic:If you think you can’t, you can’t.What If you think you can? Well, maybe it doesn’t work out, but at least you push through and fail. The most common characteristic of any innovator is failure, lots of failure. One must see failure as a step to success, else they will be paralyzed by fear and never try. Many times when this happens one may think they can’t when actually...they can. I have worked with people that always make their decisions after surveying the room - they never innovate, but they often feign a dedication to innovation. True innovators do it, because that's what they do, kind of like climbing Mount Everest, there isn't really a good reason to do it other than it is there.So what do you most want out of life? Would you rather everyone think you’re perfect and not try anything that might end in failure or controversy? Or would you rather fail every now and then, but taste the sweet reward of victory often? It is a simple choice. What’s even better is every failure creates a new opportunity to succeed. Once one decides to embrace failure as a step to success, great things happen. When one experiences the inertia of success, it is apparent, exhilarating, and contagious. Everyone wants to be associated with successful people and yet the irony is those that those that succeed typically have higher than average failure rates. Statistics say how often not when and your chance to succeed is probably well within reach today.Aristole, Rutan, von Braun, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, and Einstein all failed many times in life, and history doesn’t focus on any single failure. In fact, a quick look at DaVinci’s notebooks reveal page after page of inventions that flat out won’t work. Yet everyone looks and comments: “wow, he was ahead of his time...what a truly brilliant mind of the Renaissance.”If one want to taste the victory, one must think they can.We have a lot of really great ideas in our pool industry ready to take off. On average, boats and RVs kick our collective butts when it comes to extracting discretionary dollars from the consumer. Those of us that are part of the pool genius network revolution will reject these worn out thoughts. The days of kitchen table sales with about as much excitement as hearing about life insurance policies are over. It's all changing so fast and those that don't embrace the change, will be left behind.What is the price you are paying right now not taking risks? You end up living in a state of inactivity and in one word become: stagnant. Think pond scum, septic tanks, and sewers. It stinks, it is disgusting and no one wants to hang around it long. When you find yourself steeped in stagnation and inactivity take a lesson from the Apple play book, and Think Different. There are probably no words that do this idea more justice than those of Albert Einstein,“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”What can you fail at tomorrow? Maybe it is a question that is long overdue. Oh yeah, if you have some extra time while business is down, go visit an Apple store with open eyes and really pay attention - they have mastered the art of Thinking Different.
Thanks Marcus! I think what we represent at Pool Genius Network is a group of leaders that are "Thinking Different" and will help propel this industry to an entirely new and prosperous level!
Great article Ray. I realy loved the quote: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” .....I'm sure we could all use this advice.
Comments
We all need to expand our thinking, embrace opportunity, and "take risks". It is amazing how many of them will pay off.