How to Hunt for Hidden Treasures: Lessons from a Clever Locksmith
Picture yourself as the best locksmith who can unlock any door in the world. You’ve spent many years, hard work, and money to become an expert at unlocking doors. Now, you’re looking to benefit from all the effort you’ve put into it.
You live in a big city with many doors. You think some of these doors might hide treasures. But opening every door to find the treasure could take a lot of time. You could use up all your resources before you find it. This makes you understand that knowing how to open doors isn’t enough to make money. You need someone who knows insider information. This person can show you straight where the treasure is.
This locksmith story represents many businesses today. Success isn’t just about technical skills. A successful business or strategy is about discovering a “real” problem that users would benefit from solving it. While being good technically is key, it’s also crucial to have deep insights and understanding of the problem itself.
The problem that needs to be solved should be clearly defined and manageable. Trying to solve big, vague issues like climate change, even though important, is too broad and can’t be done realistically within a given time and budget.
Those who are skilled in current and trendy technologies, and who want to be entrepreneurs, often overlook the importance of the problem they should be solving. They tend to apply their skills to issues without focusing on the actual problem their user needs help with.
Understanding the problem that needs solving calls for careful investment of time, effort, and funds in research, studying market trends, analyzing user behaviors, among other activities. This path of discovery is vital to understand not just the problem but also its complexities, context, and the people who are affected by it.
A software developer built a unique AI and IoT device that controlled all electrical devices in a house. Despite the advanced technology and huge investment of time and money, he didn’t consider if people wanted this level of control, would pay for it, or potential privacy issues. The product failed to attract customers, leading to the project’s failure, due to the high costs, long development time, and misunderstanding of customer needs.
As engineers , we are all locksmiths in our own fields, looking for the treasures that our skills can uncover. Knowing how to open doors is crucial, but knowing which door to open is the art that leads to success.
