Innovation vs persistence

There is a trade-off between innovation and persistence that I see in my recent work. The innovation comes in form of new exciting opportunities. Out of the blue [there is actually a lot of work and planning around it, I will describe in separate posts] I generate interesting ideas, or I am approached by exciting people with great new things we can do together. Innovation is fun, it is creative, potentially dangerous and lucrative. Any time I add a plugin to the blog, open a new media channel, write a mini-app I have no idea how it will go and how much effort it will call for. Then the persistence kicks in: once I commit to something, I try to make it work. Persistence calls for hard work, boring and Sisyphean. Fixing the bugs, answering each and every comment, trying to get attention, slowly optimizing minute aspects…

Ability to generate and multiply value require equal share of innovation and persistence. My decisions are usually governed by return on investment: I can measure the amount of effort that went in and estimate the amount of effort still required, and if the goal is still sufficiently interesting I keep pushing. Measuring the expected benefit is much harder. If the people around me are excited it really helps. If I feel embarrassed by the current state of things – bugs, poor graphics, need to repeat myself – it also helps. We are not machines and the emotional gratification is even more important than the tangible benefits. All in all at any given time I need to decide if I invest into something I committed to long ago or commit to something new – and I cannot do both.

Why am I telling you all of this? When you learn new skills you have the same trade-offs. It is very cool and fun to try new things, but ultimately you need to persist with the things you already started. Training superlearning skills is not easier than writing this blog. It is something you need to do week after week – and you do not know what awaits at the other side of the training. But just as I keep on writing, hoping to help you master new skills, I suggest to keep on developing these skills – to learn new things, to make important discoveries and to serve you fellow men. Ultimately we are all in a business of generating value for other people. Investing in your knowledge you gain a huge productive potential. Use it wisely.