The Innovator's Framework

The most shocking conclusion of Clayton M. Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma is that good managerial practices can lead a company to failure when dealing with disruptive technologies. Good managers lead companies by pursuing high profit margins and delivering what their customers want. But Christensen proves that those methods only work for sustaining technological development and not for developing disruptive technology. That is revolutionary. Christensen clearly explains how to avoid the same failures that Sears, Woolco, and many other companies have experienced.

Christensen also offered an eye-opening explanation of the migration of capabilities within a company. It explains why resources are more important to a startup while process, values, and culture are more important to a mature company. I thought about my experience at a startup where I work. When I joined two years ago, there was no process -- for anything. The three programmers sat in a room next to each other and just coded. Now we have bug lists, version control, and development environments. Our values are also starting to coalesce into a company culture. I enjoyed being influential in the development of that culture. But it will be time for me to get a new job when this period of development ends and employees become just another programmer.

Gratitude

The youth activity following the First Presidency's message in the Ensign this month suggests making a list of 100 things that you are grateful. It even helps by suggesting 10 categories that you can list 10 things in. Here is my list.

The item are not listed by priority. Absence in the list does not denote ingratitude (there's only room for 100 things).

10 physical abilities you are grateful for Clear mind and intellect Hearing Eating Speaking Seeing Smelling Walking and running Eating Laughing Singing	10 material possessions your are grateful for Apartment (not technically mine though) Clothes Food Computer and printer Books Money Car Journals Wedding ring Tupperware
10 living people you are grateful for Wife Daughter Christine Dad Mom Brother Older sister Younger sister Mother in-law Father in-law Grandma York	10 deceased people you are grateful for Grandpa Clark Grandma Clark Grandpa York George Washington John Adams Joseph Smith Abraham Lincoln Ezra T Clark Edward Moroni Thurman Gordon B Hinckley
10 things about nature you are grateful for Sunshine Snow Mountains Trees that provide shade and clean air Fall foliage Rivers Waterfalls Four seasons Green grass Colorful flowers	10 things about today you are grateful for Snow Fasting Church First Presidency Devotional Family Food Testimonies in church Reading the Ensign Home Teaching Naps
10 places on earth you are grateful for Home in Sterling Provo Temple BYU Chile Wife's home St Louis Temple Apt N201 in Campus Plaza Washington, DC LDS chapel in Sterling Our current apartment	10 modern inventions you are grateful for Plumbing and running water Electricity Cars Cell phones Microwave Dishwasher Washing machine Electric razor Planes Trains
10 foods you are grateful for Water Milk Bread Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Citrus fruit Meat Pineapple Ice cream Lo mein noodles	10 things about the gospel you are grateful for Christ's Atonement Eternal Families Priesthood Blessings of the temple Book of Mormon Character building Leadership Friendship Scriptures Mission

It Still Isn't Easy

The following is a short essay I had to write for a class.

Its common for people to say that the level of entry into the field of software development has never been lower. Development tools have never been cheaper and easier to use, there is an infinite supply of programming tutorials on the internet, and the growth of the development market is rapidly outpacing the supply of software developers.

When we say that the level of entry has never been lower, it sounds like we're saying its easy to get started. But it we are strongly something much more than that. We are implying that the possibility of an average person becoming successful in the industry is approaching the possibility of success for a person who has been formally trained and educated; we are saying the Ubuntu, Eclipse, W3Schools, and StackOverflow are a worthy replacement for a bachelors degree in Computer Science. That is just as ludicrous as proposing that you could train to be a surgeon by watching YouTube videos and practicing on rats.

I don't mean to say that a getting a degree in Computer Science is a requirement to be a good software engineer. It is possible for a programmer without a degree to be better than a programmer with a degree. There are plenty of terrible programmers who earned a BS degree. But there aren't as many stellar programmers that don't have CS degrees. Why? Because software development isn't easy!

I recently attended a university job fair where multiple companies told me that they will no longer hire Electrical Engineers for software development positions because they just can't manage the advanced programming techniques and theories. But those can be learned with experience, right? Not easily. I know a guy who has been freelancing for 20 years but can't code a recursive binary tree traversal.

Large tech companies understand the difficulties of software development. Google is much more willing to hire someone with a masters degree than with a bachelors degree, even though they have to pay him more. The assumption is that he has received more education concerning advanced topics and is therefore closer to being an expert programmer; and they're usually right.

The trend of outsourcing programming to India is also ending because people are realizing that talent does not come cheap, but coding monkeys do.

A contributor to Forbes recently wrote an article titled “The Rise of Developeronomics” which states that demand for good developers is quickly outpacing supply which is causing the rise of what he calls developeronomics. Companies are acquiring other companies purely for talent (not necessarily for products or technology) and investors are keeping talented developers busy on fluff projects just to keep them around. If the level of entry were low and the promise of success were high, then the supply of good developers would not be a problem.

But the shortage of talented software developers is a problem because the level of entry isn't low. It will remain that way until there is a fundamental change in the field; new tools, resources, and languages cannot make this happen.

My Land Full of Idols

A short time ago, my wife and I were reading together in 2 Nephi. In chapter 12, Jacob is quoting a prophesy of Isaiah about our days. Verse 8 reads, “Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.” As I read that, my heart dropped. He was talking about me.

Immediately I remembered how proud I have felt about accomplishments at work; I remembered how I feel more talented than others in my CS classes because of what I do; I remembered how it makes me feel like I’m somebody that’s worth something.

Even Hobbes understands how ridiculous this is:

Of the passions that most frequently are the causes of crime [or sin], one, is vain glory, or a foolish overrating of their own worth; as if difference of worth, were an effect of their wit, or riches, or blood, or some other natural quality... (Hobbes, Leviathan: Pt. 2, Ch 27)

He’s right. I was foolishly overrating my own worth.

As my wife and I continued reading, I learned of my plight:

“For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.”

That prophesy was quickly fulfilled in my own life. First, weaknesses in my talents were exposed. For a week I had been trying to fix a bug in a program I was writing for one of my classes. Finally the due date came and I still hadn’t figured it out. So much for programming talent.

Then General Conference began and Elder Uchtdorf threw me down even lower as he spoke of the evils and dangers of pride.

Pride is sinful... because it breeds hatred or hostility and places in opposition to God and our fellow men. At its core, pride is the sin of comparison. For though it usually begins with ‘Look at how wonderful I am and what great things I have done’ it always seems to end with ‘therefore I am better than you.’ When our hearts are filled with pride we commit a great sin, for we violate the two great commandments. Instead of worshipping God and loving our neighbor, we reveal the real object of our worship and love: the image we see in the mirror.

I stood chastised, repentant, and humbled. My vision was corrected. I remembered how I had previously thought: I was grateful for talents and work that allowed me to provide for my family and focus on things which mattered more. Hopefully I can maintain that perspective for a prolonged period of time.

Why I Believe in God

Last summer I volunteered at a special daycare center for children from troubled families. In the back they had a playground and sandbox that the children loved to play in. One day while in the sandbox with the kids, a little girl walked up (so young that she couldn’t talk yet) who seemed very hesitant to play in the sand. She stopped right at the edge of the sand and look around with trepidation. I soon realized she probably had no idea what sand was and must not have been the adventurous type. I picked up some sand and showed it to her. She hesitated, then touched it a little. After prodding at it for a few moments, I slowly poured it in front of her and grabbed some more. Her fear began to dissipate. Soon she walked slowly into the sand and began to pick up handfuls of it for herself.

I was once like that little girl. I didn’t know who I was or what the purpose of life was. It brought fear, trepidation, and sorrow into my life. Once when I was around the age of 11, while riding my bike home from a neighbor’s house, I began to cry because I wasn’t happy. I didn’t know what life was about and so I most certainly wasn’t doing anything to fulfill its purpose. Sometime thereafter I began to search for answers, for something that seemed to fulfill and teach of my purpose. I looked in many places. Prestige among friends didn’t work; video games, movies, and music didn’t work; neither did K’NEX, Legos, the great outdoors or rebellion against my parents. At last I was left with the most obvious choice, one that had been staring me in face my entire life: God.

One day I realized that there were two boys at church, who a year or two older than me, that appeared to have what I was searching for. I also noticed that they were the most faithful in following the teachings of Christ. Perhaps, then, I should do the same. At the pivotal moment in my life I also had the most excellent Sunday School teacher (who was also the father of one of the previously mentioned boys). For the first time I felt anxious to be taught. What I remember most is how frequently he exhorted us to read the scriptures and pray consistently, and that he always testified of how much it blessed his life. Eventually I decided to try it.

I wish I could remember the day that I first began, but in the end its rather insignificant. What matters is that it was the most important decision I made in my youth. I began to read the scriptures and pray every morning and then pray again at night. After realizing how much of a difference it made, I also began to read at night. Once in 8th grade I went on a day trip with my father to some convention. We got back in the early hours of the morning on the next day. We were both dead tired, but I still picked up my scriptures and read a chapter before I went to bed. My desire for truth and guidance from God was more important to me than sleep. I was only 13 then.

I didn’t do it because my parents told me to or because I was just following everyone else (for 95% of the time I spent outside of my home, there wasn’t a single Mormon present). I did it because something deep inside yearned for truth and couldn’t be satisfied with anything else. There was something beyond what the world would have me believe. I felt it when I knelt down and prayed to God, when I peacefully studied the scriptures in the seclusion of my own room, when I listened attentively to things I was taught at church, and when I obeyed the commandments of God. It was as though God were picking up handfuls of sand and teaching me.

“This is who you are...”
“This is who I am...”
“This is your purpose...”
“This is what you should do...”

There have been times since then that I consciously choose to take a path against the counsel of God. I have regretted it every time. He is the only one whose answers have never failed me.

I am reminded of the hymn “When Faith Endures.”

I will not doubt, I will not fear;
God’s love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find
An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly
My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures
That fear departs when faith endures.

Today, my prayers are still answered, my wisdom continues to increase, my happiness is at greater levels than it has ever been in my life, and I am convinced more each day of God’s existence.

I know God lives.

I Don't Always Judge Righteously

This past Sunday someone shared a story during Sacrament Meeting. He was waiting in the checkout line at a grocery store behind a grungy man who smoked and had a lot of tattoos. He probably judged him, thinking he wasn’t that great of a person, otherwise what happened next wouldn’t have been very memorable. The cashier asked the grungy man if he would like to donate a dollar to a charity. He said, emphatically, “Of course!” This shocked the person behind him. “I never said yes to those things,” he told us. “But I do now.”

That story brought to mind similar experiences that I’ve had, showing me that my initial judgments are often incorrect. A few weeks ago I was on the bus up to Sandy (about a 60 minute bus ride). In front was a man dressed in all black, complete with a black bandana (so it wasn’t Goth style, it was biker-punk style).  He looked bitterly angry, and if it hadn’t been for his left foot being in a cast I would’ve been worried about him coming over and picking a fight with me because I looked at him. This man then began talking to another man in the front who had boarded with an old bicycle and three old bags of stuff. He appeared to be more quiet and respectful than the first but hadn’t shaved in a while.

The two were talking about welfare and unemployment. Their tone was disdainful so I assumed they were complaining. About 20 minutes later the bus took a sharp turn and the quiet man’s bike tipped over and hit the other man’s leg that was in the cast. He let out a groan and grabbed his leg, but he didn’t yell. The quiet man apologized, to which the other man replied, “That’s okay, it’s not like you threw the bike down.” I was shocked. I assumed that he was an angry man. I had passed a terribly incorrect judgment.

Someday shortly after my first experience I was again on the bus, only this time coming home from work. At one point two people boarded and continued a conversation they had begun while waiting for the bus. One was a girl a little older than me, and the other was a boy just a few years younger than me. The boy smelled of cigarette smoke and so I labeled him as a disrespectful trouble maker. I wasn’t too far from the truth because he began to speak of how terrible his time in jail was. He told the girl, “I tried to tell my siblings how terrible it was to make sure they didn’t end up there too. You’re treated like nothing there, not matter how small your offense was. Good thing too, or else you might want to go back.” As that statement settled in, I realized that again I was wrong about who he was. He did care about others and he did have some sense.

I have known many people who smoked or drank, had lots of tattoos, and weren’t well kept. I know that they can be wonderful people, having of more charity and respect than I do. But too often I fall into the trap of putting myself above them.

“Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.” – Alma 41: 14

A Learning Revolution

Sir Ken Robinson spoke recently at the TED Conference about the need for a revolution in education. Some highlights:

And human resources are like natural resources; they're often buried deep. You have to go looking for them. They're not just lying around on the surface. You have to created the circumstances where they show themselves. And you might imagine education would be the way that happens. But too often, it's not. Every education system in the world is being reformed at the moment. And it's not enough. Reform is no use anymore, because that's simply improving a broken model. What we need, and the word's been used many times during the course of the past few days. Is not evolution, but a revolution in education. This has to be transformed into something else.

...

A friend of mine once said, "You know, a three year-old is not half a six year-old." (Laughter) (Applause) They're three. But as we just heard in this last session, there's such competition now to get to kindergarten, to get to the right kindergarten, that people are being interviewed for it at three. Kids sitting in front of unimpressed panels, you know, with their resumes, (Laughter) flipping through and saying, "Well, this is it?" (Laughter) (Applause) "You've been around for 36 months, and this is it?" (Laughter) "You've achieved nothing, commit. Spent the first six months breastfeeding, the way I can see it." (Laughter) See, it's outrageous as a conception, but it attracts people.

The other big issue is conformity. We have built our education systems on the model of fast food. This is something Jamie Oliver talked about the other day. You know there are two models of quality assurance in catering. One is fast food, where everything is standardized. The other are things like Zagat and Michelin restaurants, where everything is not standardized, they're customized to local circumstances. And we have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education. And it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.

I think any of us who have gone through the public education system understands exactly what he is talking about. The change he is hoping for is drastic, and since it would involve many decisions by bureaucrats, it certainly won't be easy. So, meanwhile, I think I'll opt for educating my kids at home.