Dreaming of the Open Seas
Posted on July 24, 2008 - Filed Under On Ideation
Some days I dream of being a pirate. That’s because pirates are awesome. And not just because they talk with a swarly accent. They get to sail the open seas and live in a world of possibility. They are the masters of their own destiny. In my day dream, I realized that there’s a couple of things we can learn from pirates.
1. Plunder and steal.
Knowledge. It’s all around us. Ideas are published in books, magazines and blogs. The collaborative world has allowed information about new technology to flow freely. Take what you know. Combine it with what’s out there. That equals new thoughts. Each time the pirates had an encounter, they learned from it. Adapted. Got smarter.
2. Swiftness counts for a lot.
Pirates looked for the lightest and fastest ships they could get their hands on. Because when they wanted to overtake a foe, they had the advantage. And when things got too sketchy, they could flee the scene and not get caught.
Small and fast is the trend these days. It’s the small and fast companies that are overtaking the lumbering behemoths on a daily basis. Big has it’s advantages (usually when it comes to budgets), but small and swift is hard to beat.
3. Break the rules.
Pirates were rebels against authority, free spirits who made up their own rules. There’s a difference between thinking you’re breaking the rules and actually breaking the rules. You have to start by breaking your own rules. Then the rules of your category. Then your industry. Then the world. Rule followers never did anything for themselves but collected a paycheck and breathed. Rule breakers are few and far between. They disrupt. They forge ahead against all odds. They only listen to their gut. They check the wind, choose a course and set sail.
- Christian
Credit: Brains on Fire
Comments
2 Responses to “Dreaming of the Open Seas”
Leave a Reply
“It’s more fun to be a Pirate than to join the Navy” - Steve Jobs.
There’s a whole book on this topic, called Pirate Inside:
http://www.amazon.ca/Pirate-Inside-Building-Challenger-Organization/dp/0470860820/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216916956&sr=8-4
Do you have the link to the Brains on Fire article?
That’s one of my favourite quotes. I just sent you an email with the link.