If you came across this ad for business improvement, what would you think?
“Take this magic pill and it will….
Make you focus more than you’ve ever been able to before
Make you remember everything that happened in the past
Make you know what others are thinking and feeling
Make you come up with a billion dollar idea
Call +1 (866) 301-6471″
Sounds like some form of the pill from Limitless or Aderol mixed with Ciltep.
Wouldn’t it be nice if something like this existed, and didn’t just sound like some cheesy 3 am infomercial selling some type of placebo. What if there were a way to get these benefits but you had to work for it a bit, not just take a pill. Would you still want it?
I tell you it does exist, and it’s far less hazardous to your health. It’s the simple act of reading Business History.
Read.
Themes emerge. Types of personalities repeat. Macro trends cycle just as predictably as the long term housing market.
From the Rosetta Stones to the printing press, from Pony Express to Telegrams, from FM to wi-fi. Look around you right now. What things exist that you have no idea how they were made? Or even discovered? Do you know how an optical mouse came to market or your computer’s operating system? How about your car or even electricity?
When you see two cars at an intersection in Downtown LA, how much are you able to describe? How headlights were invented? How intersections came about? How Downtown LA was developed? How pavement roads were created? The list goes on and on.
When you analyze a company do you only look at what they’re currently doing, or do you put it in context with the past?
When you approach a competitor, do you know what options and strategies he could take and how to defend against them?
When you are struck with a potential business idea, do you run it through the filters of previous generations of successes and failures identifying potential pitfalls and winning strategies?
It doesn’t take some voyage into the desert for a week living off of who knows what. I’ve heard it does do the trick; however, a far more efficient and healthy approach is to learn business history. Learn your craft.
It won’t be as easy as some magic pill you pop, but I guarantee you that it will nonetheless still blow your mind.