Does Competition Drive Innovation

Does Competition Drive Innovation Does Competition Drive Innovation What became of the Stanley Steamer, the manual typewriter, or the black-and-white television? With our endless focus on the shiny and new, its easy to forget that no technology lasts forever. Examining the birth and death of old technologies, though, can yield new insights into the nature of innovation.Take the automobile, for example. Erik Gjesfjeld, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Society and Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles, recently adapted an approach used to study the evolution of fossil plant and animal species to examine the birth and death of 3,575 car models.The research revealed why innovation has ebbed and flowed in the American auto industry since 1896. It also created a valuable quantitative tool to study the evolution of any technology, from typewriters to televisions.Gjesfjeld earned a doctorate in archaeology studying the development of ancient Siberian pottery. As arc haeologists, we were aware that a lot of technologies go extinct over time, and we dont landsee that technology anymore, he said.The evolution of diversity in car manufacturing. leumund Erik GjesfjeldThanks to carmakers habit of giving models unique names and dates (a 1965 Mustang, a 2005 Prius), Gjesfjeld and his postdoctoral advisor, UCLA evolutionary biologist Michael Alfaro, had a ready trove of data on the birth and death of car models.Using a statistical method called Bayesian modeling, they examined 3,500 models produced from 1896 to 2014 to determine which of three factors determined innovation the most economic growth, changing oil prices, or the diversity of car models already on the market.They found that since the 1980s, fewer new American car models have been introduced each year, and fewer have been discontinued. And to their surprise, they found that more have gone extinct than have been introduced. We may be driving more cars, but were driving more of the same cars, Gjesfeld said.The results square with theories of technological evolution that predict that as technologies become ever more specialized, it gets more expensive to make radical innovations, and diversity decreases, the researchers reported recently in the open-access journal Palgrave Communications.The researchers model predicts the ongoing explosion of electric car models, but it also predicts that competition in the marketplace will ultimately kill off many of them. The results suggest that later in the life of an industry, its really hard to make new things, Gjesfjeld said.Read the most recent issue of Mechanical Engineering.As archaeologists, we were aware that a lot of technologies go extinct over time, and we dont see that technology anymore.Dr. Erik Gjesfjeld, University of California

10 phrases we should always say no matter how crazy our lives become

10 phrases we should always say no matter how crazy ur lives become10 phrases we should always say no matter how crazy our lives becomeIf theres one restaurant I associate with togetherness, its Pizza Hut.As a kid, Pizza Hut was THE place for birthday parties and school fundraisers. During sleepovers, parents would dial up a Pizza Hut delivery, and wed crowd around laughing, joking and devouring slice after slice.When a steaming pie landed on the table, life slowed down. At least, it used to.Now Pizza Hut plans, for the first time, to offer pizza by the slice. Why? Because we, the uber-connected, multitasking, hopelessly overloaded people of Planet Earth, are too busy to sit in a booth and talk to one another. We must, MUST eat on the go.Looking for an inspiring way to start your day? Sign up forMorning MotivationIts our friendly Facebook robot that will send you a quick note every weekday morning to help you start strong. Sign up here by clicking Get StartedSadly, we cant slow down our world,even though eatingaloneat our desks makes us less creative.Nevertheless, below are 10 phrases we should always find ourselves saying - no matter how crazy life becomes.1. Lets get together for lunch.Sometimes, lunch with friends, colleagues or business associates is a breath of air in an otherwise manic workday. Who wants to sit at a desk for 8, 9 or 10 straight hours?Thats a sure way to lose an appetite.2. Thats fine. It can wait. (also will accept No rush)Just because wecanhave it now doesnt mean weneedit now.Yes, the Internet keeps us moving at lightning speed, but theres nothing wrong with a rest stop along the information superhighway.3. I thought Id call you to catch up. Its been too long.Why spend 20 minutes on the phone with an old friend when we can just Gchat a few quick lines? Because instant messages and texts (even hilarious auto-corrects) arent the same as an actual conversation, and you and I both know that.4. Im going to write a thank-you notewith pen and paper.Yes, handwritten notes are tedious, require actual postage and hurt your wrist. But think about it this way fewer and fewer peopleactuallydo thank-you notes today, which makes the onesyouwrite 10x more valuable than they once were.5. You have my undivided attention.It takes all the focus we can muster to look up from our cell phone, tablet, laptop, TV, iPod, Kindle, PS4, XBOX and Smartwatch to make eye contact and hear someone 100%.And when it comes to Google Glass, forget about it. The technology is everywhere wetryto lookWere up against a lot, but its worth the struggle.6. Sure, I can help you with that.The more you give, the more you get. And theres nothing wrong with beingbusyhelping others. Thats still allowed.7. Board game nightA few rounds of Scattergories, Cards Against Humanity (involving these 21 awkward cards), Jenga and plenty of beer with your best pals.Who needs technology on a night like that?8. I think Im just gonna go read for a bit.The outside world is noisy. The inside of a book is not.9. Its too late at night to be dealing with these work emails.I control my phone. It does not control me.I control my phone. It does not control me.Ishould probably answer thisterrifying email subject lineas I doze off at 1115 pm.A slave to wireless communication once again10.Heywanna grab some pizza?Pizza Hut be damned. Take your individual slice of pepperoni and plop down in a booth with the people who matter. Your inbox can wait 30 minutes.Modern technology is a beautiful thing, but so is a table, three friends and nothing buttime on our hands.This post was originally published onDannyRubin.com.

This strategy makes procrastination impossible

This strategy makes procrastination impossibleThis strategy makes procrastination impossibleHow often have you started a new habit that you already quit after several days? If youre like me in the past, the answer is something like, all the time.Forming a new habit is hard. I dont have to tell you that. We all know how difficult it is to live a prosperous and healthy life. If it were easy, everybody would do it.We also know that our chance of succeeding is much higher if we start small, right? Its common sense. Dont take on too much in the beginning - youll have mora reasons to give up. So goes the advice, which is solid. Im not going to argue with that.But far too few people actually start small. In fact, I see more people starting big than starting small.Why is that? I think we can get too excited about making a change or doing new things. When we dream about making a change in our lives and start believing in it, the excitement usually takes over.Thats why we end up doing too muc h too soon.But how can I prevent myself from getting too excited?To be clear, I dont think excitement is bad. You need energy to make a change. And its great to be fired up about achieving something in your life. Always remind yourself that you want to stay fired up. Because when things get hard, we can lose that fire.So when you start forming a habit (writing, working out, reading, eating healthy) or learning a new skill, remember that it should not feel like a challenge. The activity should be easy. If thats not the case, we all procrastinate - even the most self-disciplined people do that.When you start something new, its not about your results. When I started writing every day, I couldnt care less about how many words I wrote. Or when I started getting daily exercise, I didnt care what type of exercise. I just wanted to make sure I did it.Wrote for 4 minutes? Great - you did it.Went for a 20-minute walk? Great - you did it.Read a book for 2 minutes? Great - you did it.James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, which is about changing your life by forming small habits, writes about this idea in his new book. I like how he removes all barriers for starting a habit. He writesA new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a gateway habit that naturally leads you down a more productive path.Remember, the action itself is not easy. But as James says, the first two minutes should be easy. And what youll find is that you can scale down nearly any habit or activity into a two-minute version.Want to read every day? Read one page.Want to meditate every day? Sit in a meditation position.Want to study for an exam? Open your book.I like this strategy because it nearly makes it impossible to procrastinate. When I look back at all the times Ive procrastinated, it was always related to getting overwhelmed. When you havent even started something, the end result seems a m illion miles away.Thats how you end up saying, screw this. So instead of focusing on the BIG outcome, focus on the SMALL start. Look at what you want to achieve in your life. Then, look at what habits will make that happen.For example, want to be a CEO? Most leaders are readers. So you might want to start a daily reading habit. Then, scale down the habits you need to succeed into a two-minute activity.And then what?The goal is not only to get started - its to keep going. Nobody wants to read one page a day for the rest of their lives. To me, this strategy is all about getting used to doing something every day.Look, changing your lifestyle is not an easy thing. Lets say youve been living in a certain way for 30 years. What do you expect? That you change overnight? You and I both know that it takes time. So we should change our perspective accordingly.Your first priority should always be to form the habit - something you do regularly. And remember Habits are not about results.No one cares about how many pages youve read, how hard youve worked out, or how long you havent smoked a cigarette. You should only care about what you did today - and dont focus on metrics.Life is a competition with yourself - not others. And if you want to win, you must make it easy for yourself.Thisarticlefirst appeared onDariusForoux.com.