Diverse Minds🧠, Better Solutions💡

This one’s directed at teams that are focused on developing a variety of products, not just a single product.

In case you’re wondering, GNB fits squarely into that category - we help you develop your product, whatever it may be (within reason!).

Let’s say you want to have the same capability, where do you start? Here are a few things we’ve found helpful.

Diversity of experience – Having team members with different backgrounds leads to better solutions and fresh perspectives. No one can know everything. And if we all know the same thing, we’re in about the same spot. A team from different industries with different backgrounds has a wealth of perspectives to draw on when attacking something new.

Networking – But not necessarily that kind. Know all the local (and global) suppliers, fabricators, distributors, etc. And beyond that, know what they’re capable of. Know where they fall on the good / fast cheap triangle. So when you need something made that you can’t make yourself, you know who to call.

Curiosity – A lifetime of asking “why” and “how” eventually fills your toolbox (both literal and metaphorical) with enough stuff to fix or build just about anything. Just like in finances, I’m convinced that curiosity pays compound interest.

Time in the saddle – Practical experience is irreplaceable; the more problems you solve, the more intuitive your solutions become. Eventually, that problem that would have seemed like a huge research project early in your career becomes just another day at the office.

Collaborative mindset – Nothing slows a team down more than someone with a pet skill set that they don’t like to share. Open communication without ego is fertilizer for growing elegant solutions. I’m constantly reminded how much better my ideas become when they’re open for discussion, and influenced by others in the team.

Of course, your team (and ours) doesn’t need to solve every problem, we just need to solve your problem. But I bet you’ll see some better solutions if you pay attention to these principles 😉

-Brian Schoolcraft

New Idea or Old News? 🧠📜

We’ve proposed two axes to guide staffing / external resource decisions:

Innovating <---> Implementing - Are you learning something new or applying something that’s known?

Proprietary <---> Commodity - Is this special to your business, or something anyone could use?

Let’s look at the two quadrants where the technology in question is core to your business.

1) Innovating and Proprietary

3) Implementing and Proprietary

We’ve advised that for Quadrant 1, you should keep the work internal, but for Quadrant 3 it might be best to hire an expert.

Our question today is: How do I know the difference?

You may be learning something new, but unless you look outside your experience, you’ll never know if what you’re developing has already been figured out by someone else.

Here are a few:

1. Academic Research - Assuming you can find the right search terms, academic papers can be a gold mine for seeing what’s new and what’s not.

2. Trade Shows and Publications - If your idea is in a new industry, tapping into the community can give you a huge head start in understanding the state of the art.

3. Patent Searches - Investigating existing patents can reveal whether your "innovative" idea has already been developed and even help you avoid potential legal challenges.

4. Networking with Industry Experts - Engaging with experts who have worked in your field can help identify existing solutions or even refine your own ideas by drawing on their specialized knowledge.

Whatever you do, you’ll probably save yourself a lot of time if you seek out the opinions of others in your field!

-Brian Schoolcraft

👥 The People Behind the Product: A Team Effort 🚀

We talk and think a lot about how to develop a product.

What to do first?

What’s important?

These are important questions, but perhaps this one should come first:

Who is developing your product?

Engineers

Designers

Technicians

Strong personalities

Skilled craftspeople

Soft spoken geniuses

Your team

A group of people

Individuals who, hopefully, come together to form something greater than themselves

Your team’s chemistry is one of the most important factors in your success. 

Adding the wrong person to the mix can destroy productivity, we’ve all seen it.

But adding the right person might bridge gaps in communication and accelerate your team.

Is there a missing piece in your product development puzzle?

Or a piece that needs to be removed?

-Brian Schoolcraft