I was thinking today about the prospect for a program that refits the homes of the elderly (while they’re off visiting the grands or something) so that they can be self-sufficient longer.
A very good reason to move to Florida.
But, then I started thinking about Oxo products (which I use and love). Since I think they had a great, simple idea, I decided to look at their mission statement, as a way to take a working-break from devising the mission statements for my own projects. This is what I learned:
OXO is based on the concept of Universal Design. But what is Universal Design and how does it benefit users? In simplest terms, Universal Design means the design of products usable by as many people as possible. In the case of OXO, it means designing products for young and old, male and female, left- and right- handed and many with special needs.
“Universal Design“? Cool. This phrase deftly encapsulates my dreams of master-minding a revolution from the perspective of legal technological innovation. Wish I had thought of it myself. Here’s one articulation of the Principles of universal design:
PRINCIPLE ONE: Equitable Use
PRINCIPLE TWO: Flexibility in Use
PRINCIPLE THREE: Simple and Intuitive Use
PRINCIPLE FOUR: Perceptible Information
PRINCIPLE FIVE: Tolerance for Error
PRINCIPLE SIX: Low Physical Effort
PRINCIPLE SEVEN: Size and Space for Approach and Use
BWAAAHHHAHHHAAA~!
Here’s what one path looks like:
Step One: learn something about the law. Check!
Step Two: impatience with the inanity of legal practice becomes intolerable. Check!
Step Three: understand that my highest use is NOT chasing clients. Check!
Step Four: Battle with middle-class demons for 15 years. Check!
Step Five: Say, what the hell! I gotta be meeeeee! Check.
So, when Ron Gruner asks, as he did in his White paper, “What’s Holding You back?” I can sum up the answer in 4 words: A Team To Execute
That’s all and that’s it.
Now, in solving that problem there is a major dependency, called “money.” But, money is not the first consideration when it comes to “getting stuff done.” The Amish don’t need money to build barns, they need people.
The dirty little secret of capitalism is that there are a LOT of people who are not money-motivated. Most of them work long hours for other people. They’re not motivated by money,–they’re motivated by the things money can buy, their own limitations and their fears.
People aho are not money motivated are usually people with experience having lots of it. They know money doesn’t buy happiness and having “enough” money is relative to one’s perceived needs. That’s one of the lessons that allows our veterans to survive on the street,–the military taught them that survival isn’t about money, it’s about resourcefulness.
One thing I know is that there is a deep pool of people who have passion and who would gladly trade a Lamborghini and 100-hour work weeks for a satisfying 60-hour work week (let’s be realistic). Those are the people I need to find.
I find them, then I find someone with money to pay them to execute the visions.
That’s it and that’s all.
