So, today was Day Zero.
Today, we got as many people together as we could, and we
started the team back up. We’re coming out of hibernation; most of us have
spent the summer doing nothing that looks remotely school-related.
We’re back, and we’re better then ever!
Of course, by definition, better means different. Our
smartest team members left last year for college and careers and life, and now
we don’t have them to lean on. In the words of Thirteen Days, “There ain’t no old man here. [censored] it’s just
us.”
Am I scared? Yes. Am I excited? You bet. It’s that strange
mix of fear and excitement that you feel at the top of a roller coaster, when
the ratchet has done its job and gravity is about to take over. You look down
the track, and two thoughts pop into your head (or mine at least): “This is
going to be so much fun,” and “What have I gotten myself into?”
The gap between fear and excitement is where performance
happens. That’s where people hit their peak. That’s the part where you shift
your Corvette into sixth gear, and you feel the rumble of the engine and you
know that the car, if it could, would enjoy it.
There’s another gap, this time between the past and the
future. Everything happens in that gap, but one thing in particular:
innovation. Between the past and the future is where things like the iPhone and
the drink pouch come. In Stephen Pressfield’s words, “When a crazy idea pops
into our head and we think, “No, this is too crazy,”… that’s the idea we want.”
That is the heart of innovation. Innovation is taking something that is good
enough, and making it better. Dyson’s bladeless fan is an excellent example of
this.
We’re here because we’re next.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, all the tech giants are
hoping for us, betting on us, planning on us being better at their jobs then
they ever were. And at some point, we’ll look at each other and realize, “There
ain’t no old man here. [censored] it’s just us.”
And we’ll be ready.
