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THE ROAD FORWARD The article “The Road Forward” [December 2001/January 2002] resonated with me. My wife and I visited our oldest son at Georgia Tech right after the World Trade Center attacks. We went despite a little worry about flying together and about leaving our other sons at home, but three memories of that weekend will stay with me for a long time. First, my son’s resolve to get on with the program and learn. Second, the 41,000 people at the Tech/Clemson game singing “God Bless America” and the National Anthem, many of them with tears in their eyes. Third, seeing a vibrant Atlanta airport filled with thousands of people who were traveling with a back-to-business attitude. It is now time to step up and be part of the solution for recovery. I believe we should be more worried about our customers, our employees, and our suppliers than Wall Street’s profit expectations. I’m not advocating operating in the red. I am advocating calm under fire, higher energy levels, more creativity, and a strong dose of the good old-fashioned work ethic to get us through the rough waters ahead. —Fred Brunk
In thinking about “The Road Forward,” I am reminded of a story that floated around immediately after the terrorist attacks, which told of a survivor sending a message about his location from inside the rubble from his wireless Palm. Even though this story later proved to be false, I find the prospect of technology offering us more options to be heartening. The attacks on Sept. 11 showed how indispensable mobile technology has become. How many families contacted their loved ones within minutes of the event to let them know they were safe? The value of those conversations cannot be measured in conventional terms. I travel weekly to New York, and my brother called me on my cellphone to check on me seconds after he heard on the radio about the hijacked airplane hitting the first World Trade Center tower. I was able to call my parents before they woke up that day to tell them that I was safe. That situation sits in stark contrast to the one my other brother found himself in when he was in Mexico City during its catastrophic earthquake in 1985. My brother was unharmed, but we didn’t know for two weeks if he was alive or dead! Our tools are improving our quality of life. In some cases, the personal connections they offer are profound. —Jim Prendergast
THE WEALTH OF NOTIONS As an investor in early-stage Silicon Valley software companies, I constantly hear talented entrepreneurs describe an emerging trend, the problems that will arise from it, and how their solution will help the world capture the emerging value while addressing the problems. In the article “The Wealth of Notions” about innovation [October/November 2001], James Burke and Arthur Molella accurately assert that if more people have easier, faster access to information and ideas, innovation will accelerate. More people can contribute to the subject matter, and concepts move across disciplines more rapidly. Gutenberg’s movable type printing press proves this to be true. The invention opened up information more broadly to people and was the key technology driver behind the “Age of Enlightment” and the massive number of scientific breakthroughs that occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Yet in addition to a review of how innovation takes place, I would have appreciated more prescriptive ideas on how to improve the innovation process. For example, Silicon Valley seems to have created a unique culture of sustainable invention. Most entrepreneurs I meet have advanced degrees, years of business experience, and a blinding ambition to make a difference in the world. These people are surrounded by a well-developed infrastructure consisting of other entrepreneurs and service providers that support their ambitions and help them realize their dreams. It is not impossible to build a software giant in Idaho, but it is going to be harder to do there than in the Bay Area. I want to know what other communities can do to encourage and sustain a culture of invention. Another issue I care about is the difference between breakthroughs and incremental improvement. Early-stage investors discuss this a lot. The Information Age we live in now came about through a succession of both types of innovation. For example, harnessing electricity to create light was a breakthrough, while optimizing the mix of gases in a light bulb was incremental. The Internet provides a revolutionary way of communicating, and Amazon.com Inc.’s one-click shopping is an evolutionary improvement. I’m interested in learning how we can help individuals capture the knowledge and find the tools they require to create inventions and ensure that we benefit from their advances regardless of whether they are breakthroughs or incremental improvements. So while I agree with Burke and Molella’s basic thesis, I wish they had gone further. —Gerard Cunningham
Several things struck me as I read the intriguing exchange between Burke and Molella. First, although it is indisputable that we live in an era of rapid technological advance, I’m not entirely convinced that our times surpass all others in the speed and scope of technological change. Bioengineering, fuel cells, personal computers, and the Internet have either reshaped our world or have the potential to do so, but can we be sure that their collective impact will be greater than today’s taken-for-granted technologies? After all, the world at the turn of the 20th century had witnessed the recent emergence of motion pictures, skyscrapers, refrigeration, electric lights, and the automobile, while the airplane and commercial radio were just over the horizon. Comparisons of historical eras are difficult and projections are always hazardous, but can we say with confidence that the Internet will reshape society and culture as much as the automobile has? Second, Burke and Molella note that easy access to vast amounts of information will greatly facilitate the ability of inventors to create new marvels. But that’s not the whole story. Invention is an act of creation, and we really don’t know much about how the creative process occurs in human beings. Try talking to an artist or an inventor about how they get their ideas and you’ll find that they become quite inarticulate very quickly. In short, there’s a lot more to invention than drawing on useful information. On the other hand, I do agree with Molella about the importance of manipulation and dexterity for inventors and others involved with the advancement of technology. If the countless hours spent by young people in front of computer screens are preventing them from doing the sorts of things that facilitate the interaction of hand and brain, then the net effect of computerization on the process of invention will be pernicious. —Rudi Volti
Creativity is the genius of seeing what no one else sees because it is not there yet. It’s envisioning not just the solution, but also the problem itself, which no one else has recognized or might not even be present yet. Yes, we do have tools at our disposal today that allow innovation to flourish. But even before a system existed to allow interactive programmers to produce 3D games online, Walt Disney created genius in his characters with the new technology platforms and media of his day. America has led much of the global charge in innovation not because of the powerful technology we have at our disposal. We lead because of the culture that drives us to build for the future using the tools of the present. —Keith Ferrazzi
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