by Benjamin Harrison
Antonio Stradivari is considered the greatest violin maker of all time. He truly was the Michael Jordan of 17th century Italian instrument making. Can you imagine a violin crafted in such a way that it becomes an extension of you? Speculation abounds as to what his secret was. Perhaps it was a mysterious ingredient hidden in layers of varnish? Maybe it was in the curing process of a tone wood; every minute painstakingly accounted for as the master luthier gave birth to his latest masterpiece. All speculation aside, everyone is in agreement that Stradivari made the best violins the world has ever known. Tools designed for the most talented musicians among us. You see, even back then, they knew that having the right tool was 99% of the job.
A GOOD TOOL DOESN’T JUST ‘ADD TO’, BUT SUBTRACTS LESS
To paraphrase the First Law of Thermodynamics, energy can neither be created, nor destroyed. By embracing this principle, we will never expect to put ‘6’ into a system and get ‘6’ out of it; we might get ‘5.9’, but we won’t ever get ‘6’. It’s imperative, that we direct our energy toward the most useful tool for the job or project. Having a thousand screwdrivers at your fingertips will do you no good when all that you really need is a single hammer. Software is no different. While many options (tools) exist in the market, only one tool is right for your job. Shouldn’t it be designed by a master craftsman?
Whether you’re a small business owner, project manager or the head of an IT department, chances are you have a range of goals and perhaps even a clear vision of achieving them. You don’t need a ‘solution’, because your goals aren’t the problem. Neither is achieving them, so long as you have the right tool for the job…