July 10, 2020

Lessons of Greatness: Why the world needs breakthrough builders; How it can be you | Starting Greatness with Mike Maples

Check out the Starting Greatness Episode Page & Show Notes

Key Takeaways

• 1) Look for inflections
  • “Exponential inflections power massive breakthroughs” – Mike MaplesAn inflection is a time of significant change
  • The 4 main types of inflection: technology, adoption, regulatory, and belief
• 2) Work backwards from different potential futures
  • “Breakthrough builders seem crazy in the present, but they’re right about the future” – Mike Maples
  • Consider different and surprising futures and work backwards to the present
  • There are 3 types of futures: plausible, possible, or preposterous
• 3) Gather breakthrough insights
  • “Insights lead you to breakthrough ideas that let you build something so exponentially different, it lets you break free from the pull of the present” – Mike Maples
  • An insight is an unrecognized truth

Intro

• Host: Mike Maples (@m2jr) 

The World Needs Builders

• Steve Jobs didn’t discover a market need for smartphones of tablets. He designed the category.
  • Elon Musk did the same with electric cars and space travel
    • “We need more people who unapologetically seek breakthroughs” – Mike Maples

Forecasting < Backcasting

• Forecasting works best for incremental changes
  • It has its limitations, it takes present problems into the future with us
• Backcasting is the opposite of forecasting
• How do you backcast?
  • 1) Look for inflections
    • “Exponential inflections power massive breakthroughs” – Mike Maples
      • An inflection is a time of significant change
      • The 4 main types of inflection: technology, adoption, regulatory, and belief
  • 2) Work backwards from different potential futures
    • “Breakthrough builders seem crazy in the present, but they’re right about the future” – Mike Maples
      • Consider different and surprising futures and work backwards to the present
      • There are 3 types of futures: plausible, possible, or preposterous
  • 3) Gather breakthrough insights
    • “Insights lead you to breakthrough ideas that let you build something so exponentially different, it lets you break free from the pull of the present” – Mike Maples
      • An insight is an unrecognized truth
        • Ask yourself: What type of team would I need to make each insight real?

Starting Greatness with Mike Maples : breakthroughs, builders, entrepreneurs, insights
Notes By Alex Wiec