Surfing the Waves, and Finding the Trends....

I like to go down to the beach sometimes, when the weather is nice. Surf some waves....

Well, I'm not really a board-surfer. But I do like to body surf....

Even though my Dad is from Michigan, he loved the ocean, so I grew up living in various cities around the world. Apart from Ithaca, NY (my birth place), they were all by the ocean.... So I've enjoyed body-surfing since I was a little kid.

These thoughts of surfing remind me of something I once read about Bill Gates.

Bill Gates isn't usually there at the start of a wave. There's usually up to a few other riders surfing the wave already, before Bill Gates gets there. But Bill paddles furiously to catch up. He usually does, then stands up and surfs to the front of the wave.

A good example is Internet Explorer and Netscape. Netscape made the first commercial software program to surf the internet.

But Bill Gates saw what was happening, and saw that this was a big wave coming. So he paddled furiously, and then managed to get on the same wave. Eventually, he surfed past Netscape.

(Whether he did it legally or not is not for me to decide here....)

As the years go by, there are always changing trends. Sometimes these are to do with changing technology, sometimes to do with changes in society. However, these changing trends are a gold mine of opportunity.

If you can see the trend early, you may be able to catch it.

Some trends remain hidden, and you can surf them all by yourself for a while before others realize and try to catch up.

Other trends are more obvious, and you don't have the trend to yourself for long....

I'll be writing more about this in the future - especially about what a well-known and respected business authority says about SOURCES OF INNOVATION in business, and how to find those trends....

Happy surfing!

Dien Rice

> I like to go down to the beach sometimes,
> when the weather is nice. Surf some
> waves....

> Well, I'm not really a board-surfer. But I
> do like to body surf....

> Even though my Dad is from Michigan, he
> loved the ocean, so I grew up living in
> various cities around the world. Apart from
> Ithaca, NY (my birth place), they were all
> by the ocean.... So I've enjoyed
> body-surfing since I was a little kid.

> These thoughts of surfing remind me of
> something I once read about Bill Gates.

> Bill Gates isn't usually there at the start
> of a wave. There's usually up to a few other
> riders surfing the wave already, before Bill
> Gates gets there. But Bill paddles furiously
> to catch up. He usually does, then stands up
> and surfs to the front of the wave.

> A good example is Internet Explorer and
> Netscape. Netscape made the first commercial
> software program to surf the internet.

> But Bill Gates saw what was happening, and
> saw that this was a big wave coming. So he
> paddled furiously, and then managed to get
> on the same wave. Eventually, he surfed past
> Netscape.

> (Whether he did it legally or not is not for
> me to decide here....)

> As the years go by, there are always
> changing trends. Sometimes these are to do
> with changing technology, sometimes to do
> with changes in society. However, these
> changing trends are a gold mine of
> opportunity.

> If you can see the trend early, you may be
> able to catch it.

> Some trends remain hidden, and you can surf
> them all by yourself for a while before
> others realize and try to catch up.

> Other trends are more obvious, and you don't
> have the trend to yourself for long....

> I'll be writing more about this in the
> future - especially about what a well-known
> and respected business authority says about
> SOURCES OF INNOVATION in business, and how
> to find those trends....

> Happy surfing!

> Dien Rice

Very insightful, Dien. I just want to let you and Gordon know you've breathed new life into my daily internet experience. I've really missed Gordon's posts on the boards. I truly believe you're on to something with this web site. I know I'll be checking in on a regular basis.
If and when you're ready I'll be happy to spread the word about this site through my "editor" affiliation with Briefme.com. The reviews really do get read by loads of folks. Anyhoo, keep up the good work.

Continued Succes!

Gary


Q+

I don't do a lot of endorsements, certainly you couldn't buy mine if you wanted to.

But I have found Gary Reed and his company, Quality Plus to be OUTSTANDING...

Visit his web site at www.qualityplusco.com and see all the great things he has..

Read ESPECIALLY about his start in Video, and if you have an interest, I can personally tell you that Gary delivers the goods.

I'm going to be speaking more and more about VIDEO in the near future.

I hope Gary Reed will contribute his knowledge.

I've also asked George Marquez, that Motorcyclin Chatteler, who just happens to be a VIDEO expert too, to also stop by and start educating us on video production.

Heck, with all these SCREENWRITERS emerging from the shadows, we might all be able to cash in the next BLAIR WITCH PROJECT...

As one famous film maker said about the Blair Witch Project, "It makes my garbarge look like Starwars."

NO Sir, it makes your movies look like Gone With The Wind...HA!

The word on GARY REED...OUTSTANDING!

Gordon Alexander

Hi Gary,

Glad you're enjoying Seeds of Wisdom! And we're not even "officially" open yet - that's coming soon, on Sept. 1.

I also missed Gordon's posts - I saved heaps of them over the years. He does have a very unique style, and he gives you the honest lowdown on things.

Gary, I noticed you have a useful web site too.... As Gordon said, people ought to check out your video services, and I hope you'll share more of your wisdom here too. And if you feel the site is pretty good, feel free to "spread the word".... :)

Best wishes,

Dien Rice

A long long time ago... on a beach far far away... he saw the girl from a distance and went in for a closer look. As he got closer he saw she was sexy. Incredible sexy. She wore a semi-see-through crochet-bikini and had a figure most women would die for.

He confidently approached her, oblivious to the crashing of the waves in the background.

Sensing his presence she turned to face him.

His voice was hard, firm and without emotion. "Miss", he said, "THAT bathing costume is unsuitable for this beach. Please put on another one or leave the beach."

She just looked blankly at the beach inspector for a brief moment then said, "Okay". She walked over to her bag, pulled out her "more suitable bathing costume", took off the offensive one, showing the beach inspector her nakedness, put the "more suitable bathing costume" on and asked, "Is this all right?"

The beach inspector said, "Yes", and turned and walked away.

He didn't realize it, probably because he didn't know what to look for, but one of the keys of the mega-successful, moderately-successful and mediocre-successful had been shown to him. In fact, all the information he could wish for about succeeding was around him every day.

Alas, for him, it was never to be. He was too close-minded. Too inured within the system.

But to those with vision... those with eyes to see... the beach is a magical place. A place that reveals business' secrets to success.

If you've ever studied fire, or sat through a fire-safety course, you'll know of the Fire Triangle. A simple pictogram which represents what a fire needs to exist. Each point representing an element. Those three elements being Oxygen, Heat and Fuel. The absence of any one element prevents any fire from burning.

There's also a Success Triangle. Its three elements are Technology, Law and Society.

However, unlike the Fire Triangle, the Success Triangle is an either-or triangle. As long as one point exists, success is very possible. Provided it has a square foundation base made of Product, Promotion, Prospect and Media (Place for those who'd like to keep it to all Ps), that is.

The interesting thing is, the Success Triangle can dictate what the base is made of.

Oh, one other thing... for the Success Triangle to be really effective, the elements of it need to change.

Back to the beach...

If the beach inspector had had his eyes open, he would have noticed that he was now asking more and more women to replace their skimpy bikinis with more old-fashion ones. He was sitting in the front row seat as a Change in Society was taking place. He saw it every day, yet it never entered his mind that maybe he should sell bikinis to all the people who now wanted them. He saw the wave coming but didn't "see" it coming. He saw other people had already caught the wave and were surfing it, but he didn't "see" it. His eyes were looking but not seeing.

I LOVE the beach analogy... waves start way off in the distance and take a while to reach you. If we watch we see them build. If we continue to watch we see surfers get on them. If they stay on we know the wave is a long one and we can now get on if we want. The wave keeps coming and coming. Some crash sooner than others. But all get surfers on them of various skill levels.

Some surfers are far from the shore and catch every bit of swollen water they can, always hoping it'll turn into a big wave. Others wait closer to shore making sure it is a surfable wave before hopping on. And yet others stay on the shore line barely getting their feet wet - at least they aren't getting dumped, they figure.

But the wave only comes when there's a change in the water/air/land. No change, no wave, just flat like a mill-pond.

A CHANGE in water, air or land and a wave forms for surfers to get on. Similarly a CHANGE in Technology, Law or Society creates a wave peope can get on and get Rich.

See the wave coming from far off and you can prepare to catch it.

Michael Ross.