There are many ways to read oneself.
Among them, the easiest and fastest is to read a book. That said, the old saying that what comes easy is lost just as easily does not exactly miss the mark here either. Of course, I do not think anyone would take the bewildering step of giving up reading because of that.
Another way is to use the other person as a mirror to see myself. This one is very hard. If you receive the other emotionally or misread their intent, identification can happen, where you start to resemble the other. So I think some psychological background is very much needed. (* Identification = the phenomenon where the state of mind or behavior of the other person becomes the same as your own.)
Also, instead of looking at and judging the other person's behavior itself, you need to first understand the cause, motivation, and environment behind that behavior, which takes time. (Here, 'needing time' is not just a nicely polished phrase about not making hasty judgments and holding a middle position; it means…) You have to accept and endure the internal and external misunderstandings and rumors that arise in the gap of that time. You need the problem-solving capacity to work through that situation—whether it is an interpersonal one or an inner psychological conflict.
For that reason, I want to practice 'using the other person as a mirror to see myself.' Or, loosely put, it is more like a bit of grumbling I hope to exchange over a drink with the me who might become me in the future.
Mirroring Myself 05 - The single necessary and sufficient condition for a business
1. Reflection
1) For me personally, a new insight or item begins from some discomfort or wish. And
in the process of unraveling that issue you run into the kinds of hurdles everyone would recognize:
- I am probably not the first to notice this discomfort and wish.
- I am probably not the first to try and work through this issue.
- There must be its own backstory and reasons for why the issue still remains.
That said, the reason I am personally more hopeful and optimistic is:
- 'Issue discovery' = not a specialist soaked in past experience.
- Therefore the way I perceive the problem and the path to a solution can differ from before.
- Answers can be sought outside the existing choice set.
That is how I think about it.
2) Even so, one homework item remains to cross: I am not at Naver, or ETRI, or
any R&D organization like that, nor in an environment like theirs.
So between subjective judgment based on the personal vision I discovered,
and recognition of the objective situation and reality, and the decision-making grounded in that,
collisions and agonies are needed every time.
Simply put, I am not in a position to live drunk on ideals.
3) Maybe that is why, the moment I first read the words from the book below, they struck me so much.
According to some articles, only 1 in 100 startups succeed.
And we strive to be that 1.
And we tend to call the 99 that have not yet become 1 'failures' (or, spun nicely, 'a process toward success').
But we know that our daily lives are being improved through the free-app services that make up most of those 99.
We know it. Even if we have no intention of paying, such services are clearly needed.
Whether or not it makes money, if someone felt that inconvenience, it is probably not only
that one person's problem. And it does not stop here:
someone bets their life on the process of improving that inconvenience.
If the world were composed only of experts aiming for money-making services, as this book describes,
would we really be able to enjoy the kind of convenience we have now?
4) On first reading the book I thought 'ah—right! I must not overlook this'—
but in the process of letting the thought mature suddenly the thought 'well…' arose, so I am jotting down a few lines.
I still… and yet…
I think the most important necessary and sufficient condition for business is WHY.
(Maybe I have not grown up, or maybe life is still bearable enough…?)
"A business is a group pursuing profit, and therefore it must capture customers who pay.
The pursuit of profit is an extremely necessary and sufficient condition for a company.
If you want to think about the public good, that is the role of a social enterprise, a public agency, or a large-corporate R&D project."
I raise a childish objection to that.
I also object to social enterprises operated on government grants and taxes, justified by their 'purpose and cause.'
We live in an age of zero growth. I also think we are in a transitional period of economic structure.
Not only stocks and real estate but also the startup ecosystem—
needs a change in the standards of rationality that were understood in the early market economy. That is what I think.
2. The memo that started the reflection
1) Regardless of the kind of business you hold in mind, there is one question you must ask yourself.
"If there is a single necessary and sufficient condition for a business, what would it be?" The product? The technology? Or
customer demand, business plan, vision, talent, a great manager, capital, investors, competitive advantage, enterprise value?
All wrong. These are all important conditions, but they are not the answer.
The single necessary and sufficient condition for a business is a paying customer.
2) The day someone pays for the good or service you put on the market, business begins.
Hold on to this simple truth and you will be able to focus on what really matters.
— Disciplined Entrepreneurship (MIT Startup Bible)
