(2022-10-08) When You Change The World And No One Notices

When You Change the World and No One Notices. Wilbur and Orville Wright conquered flight on December 17th, 1903. Few inventions were as transformational over the next century

days, months, even years after the Wright’s first flight, hardly anyone noticed.

the first passing mention of the Wrights in The New York Times came in 1906, three years after their first flight

It was not until May, 1908 – nearly four and a half years after the Wright’s first flight – that experienced reporters were sent to observe what they were doing

The most innovative products – the ones that truly change the world – are almost never understood at first, even by really smart people.

It happened with the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell tried to sell his invention to Western Union, which quickly replied: This `telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a practical form of communication

It happened with the car.

It happened with the index fund

It’s happening now, too. 3D printing has taken off over the last five years.

Solar is similar. Photovoltaics were discovered in 1876.

Big breakthroughs typically follow a seven-step path:

This process can take decades. It rarely takes less than several years.

Three points arise from this.

It takes a brilliance to change the world. It takes something else entirely to wait patiently for people to notice. “Zen-like patience” isn’t a typical trait associated with entrepreneurs.

When innovation is measured generationally, results shouldn’t be measured quarterly.

Invention is only the first step of innovation.