If you are in business, your opinion does not matter.
The people flogging the Steve Jobs biopic are on late night radio talking. I heard the producer relating stories about Steve Jobs, one I found interesting.
Apparently, when laser printing technology first showed up, Steve Jobs said do it. Well, the problem was in 1985 a laser printer was $6,000. A new Acura was $6,000. Was he nuts?
So they fired him. And Jobs went on his way for a decade. And Apple went downhill.
Now, who would buy a laser printer for $6000 when an Acura was $6000?
The problem with the question is it presumes a false dilemma. There is an opinion implicit in the question, of that false dilemma. Either or.
Had someone formed the question as a hypothesis, perhaps they would have tested and found out Jobs was right.
For a word processor, a brochure maker, layout editor, etc, typesetting is an expensive proposition. Say such a step adds $250 to a job. A laser printer cuts that step out. It takes only 24 jobs to cover the cost of the laser printer. When your firm spends more than $6000 over the amortized PVT life of a laser printer on typesetting, you are money ahead.
How does the price of an Acura have anything to do with that calculation?
If you are starting up a business, you need to understand something: You have no idea what you are talking about. Your opinion does not matter. Form every opinion as a hypotheses, and then test it.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
The people flogging the Steve Jobs biopic are on late night radio talking. I heard the producer relating stories about Steve Jobs, one I found interesting.
Apparently, when laser printing technology first showed up, Steve Jobs said do it. Well, the problem was in 1985 a laser printer was $6,000. A new Acura was $6,000. Was he nuts?
So they fired him. And Jobs went on his way for a decade. And Apple went downhill.
Now, who would buy a laser printer for $6000 when an Acura was $6000?
The problem with the question is it presumes a false dilemma. There is an opinion implicit in the question, of that false dilemma. Either or.
Had someone formed the question as a hypothesis, perhaps they would have tested and found out Jobs was right.
For a word processor, a brochure maker, layout editor, etc, typesetting is an expensive proposition. Say such a step adds $250 to a job. A laser printer cuts that step out. It takes only 24 jobs to cover the cost of the laser printer. When your firm spends more than $6000 over the amortized PVT life of a laser printer on typesetting, you are money ahead.
How does the price of an Acura have anything to do with that calculation?
If you are starting up a business, you need to understand something: You have no idea what you are talking about. Your opinion does not matter. Form every opinion as a hypotheses, and then test it.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
1 comments:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577267271656000782.html?mod=hp_jrmodule
Persistent myths I think about entrepreneurship - that it is "risky" and that it cannot be learned.
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