We always assume that things will continue to be on a linear trajectory. In statistics we can project future points on a graph based on previous points. In technology, we have always assumed that because things have always been, they will continue to grow as they always have.

When the iPhone was released I was happy with my Blackberry Curve 8300. I was at Comcast managing a datacenter in California, and I was just fine with what I had. The iPhone was a toy for yuppie kids with too much of daddies money. Today I have an iPhone, and iPad, a Mac Book Pro, 2 apple TV’s, my wife has an iPhone and an iPad, 2 of my 3 kids have iPod Touch, and one of them has an iPhone. I do more work on my iOS devices than I do on my Mac Book. When Steve Jobs and Apple created the iPhone, they didn’t assume that a small screen and a qwerty keyboard were going to be what we all wanted, they went out and built something most of us said we would never buy and changed an industry.

Seth Godin, in his book tribes said, “The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there.
People will follow. ” The real message here, well the one I take for the purposes of this post, is that we need to stop thinking that things are how they are and won’t change. Things change because we make them.

In his post Do You Drink The Kool-Aid Or Do You Make It? Gabriel Chapman points out that we need to be deeply involved in the technology process to be effective at our jobs in technical sales. We can’t just drink the Kool-Aid, we can’t just take what marketing gives us and accept it as a fact. Being hands on, being able to communicate, and being able to stand up and be honest when something is not the right fit is critical.

So in closing, don’t be so linear, don’t just drink the Kool-Aid, get out there, get your hands dirty, understand what you are doing, whether you are in technical sales, or any other field, and do what excites you. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it shows and you will not be nearly as effective.  Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and go in the opposite direction from everyone else, you might just create something amazing.