Hi Becky!

I'm glad you liked the post.... :) I'm surprised how well the ideas from evolution seem to fit the business world so well....

> Great post--I especially enjoyed the part
> about destruction.

Heheh, when I first read about it, I thought the term "creative destruction" sounded pretty wild.... :)

However, when you think about it, it's true.... It'd be nice if we could keep everything, but clearly this is not possible. The reason people generally don't buy themselves a horse and buggy is precisely the reason why "destruction" (for better or worse) is also part of the process.... Since (for example) a car is much more practical than a horse and buggy.

I guess the key is knowing that the process is always happening and trying to stay on the right side of it....

I think knowing about the process of "creative destruction" suggests ways of coming up with new ideas.... For example, instead of focusing what you can create, you can also focus on what will inevitably become obsolete as a result of today's technology. Once you feel you know which way things will go as a result of technology today, you can move into position to take advantage of the upcoming new niches.... It's just an alternative approach to the usual one....

For example, I strongly believe that either long distance phone charges will come down very dramatically, or they'll become obsolete (as more people use the internet to talk to each other by voice internationally). If you think this is "inevitable," then it could be good to hop on the trend -- for example, by selling software which enables people to talk to each other over the internet. (However, the timing might still be too early, it's hard to say without trying it out....)

> Here is another evolutionary example:

> In the wild, animals (often) tend to be
> lumped into one of two categories--predator
> or prey. In order to survive, they must
> constantly evolve to keep up with the times.

> The prey: To survive, it must develop better
> colorings and markings to remain
> "invisible" to the predator in
> their natural environment.

> In response, the predator develops better
> eyesight to more easily spot the camoflauged
> prey. Indeed, some predatory animals have
> developed a four color cone vision system
> (or more) to detect prey in hiding (humans
> have only three cones--we cannot begin to
> imagine the colors that these animals see!).

Wow, I didn't know that about the sight of some predators! :)

> Although this can be used as an analogy for
> many businesses, here is a specific example:

> Radar detectors!

> Police (predators?) develop better systems
> of detecting speeder. In response, certain
> businesses keep developing better radar
> detectors to keep speeders (prey?) informed
> of any police in the area.

> And so the cycle continues, two businesses
> evolving as they compete.

That's a good analogy -- I hadn't thought of that! Thanks Becky....

I like your idea of how it's a cycle, each side using innovation and new technology to try to get ahead of the other....

> This makes me also think that the consumer
> must want to evolve. Although greatly in the
> minority, there are folks out there who
> wouldn't give up their typewriters. So down
> the road we may see one of two things
> happen: a) Typewriters and their loyal
> followers will die out or b) these folks
> will "survive" because they have
> an advantage--perhaps they are better
> writers because they don't rely on the word
> processing program to check their documents.

Here's an example of how typewriters are still used....

I've been thinking about these issues the past several days, and in the process I asked my brother Thomas if he could think of any instances where typewriters were still used. He works part-time at a stock-broking firm, and he said that they still used a typewriter at his stockbroking firm to quickly address envelopes. So the typewriter has one advantage -- you can quickly and precisely type on an odd-sized piece of paper (like an evelope) by just lining it up! You can do it with a computer printer too, but not as easily. So the typewriter is not quite "extinct" yet.... :)

I agree with you about word processors and education, in that it could give some students the idea that they don't need to learn how to spell (for example)....

Thanks Becky, I loved your post.... I thought it was very stimulating, with a lot of food for thought! :)

- Dien