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The Brutal Truth About Life-Changing Opportunities We Overlook Every Day
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The Brutal Truth About Life-Changing Opportunities We Overlook Every Day

Michael Simmons
Medium, 2023
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Well Structured
  • Visionary

Recommendation

Ever wonder why it took a global pandemic for the world to embrace working from home, or why no one put wheels on suitcases until the 1980s? In this engaging article, entrepreneur Michael Simmons offers a brief overview of key instances when humanity was slow to embrace change and innovation, and explores why this is so often the case. Through careful analysis, Simmons reveals how conventional wisdom keeps society from seeing great opportunities. He also proposes a five-part mind-set that can help people get ahead of the innovation curve.

Summary

People miss out on great innovations because they listen to conventional wisdom.

People often assume that, if an idea is good enough, society will immediately put it to good use. Yet there are thousands of cases of innovation stagnation throughout history – moments when, for seemingly inexplicable reasons, a groundbreaking idea gets set aside for years. Penicillin was discovered in 1928, but it was neither produced nor used widely until the late 1940s. Nobody thought to put wheels on a suitcase until the late 1980s despite the wheel existing for thousands of years.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, most knowledge workers switched from going into an office every day to working from home. Increased efficiency, lowered operating costs and happier employees were just some amazing benefits this transition yielded. Yet, if the pandemic had never happened, it could have been decades before companies became wise to the value of remote work. 

About the Author

Author Michael Simmons is a serial entrepreneur.

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