The bridge across the river...

Reading the future. When it comes to product design and planning or even investing in one, this is an immense gift. In software development cycles, this one is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it helps you come up with the "wow" factor. On the other hand, it makes you look like a fool in the present sometimes. Yes. Remarkable isn't it? What concerns me is not that you look like a fool, but the fact that people tend to overlook the potential of something great just because they dont want to admit it. I can understand when people cannot imagine. I appreciate when people evaluate the risks of betting on the future. What perplexes me is the attitude where people simply want to visualize the future in the future.

Confused? Ok, let me illustrate. Imagine you are the architect of a town. You are planning the bridges, the reservoirs, gardens, and the railroad for this new town. It might appear logical to think what the needs of the future might be? Hmmm. May be the roads need to be wider because you may have lot of cars? Something like that. On the contrary, there are those who decide that road widening can be considered when we have too many cars. Now, the most wonderful case is where someone asks this: what makes you think we will even have roads in the future? I witnessed one such scene today at my workplace. At first, I tried to understand the reasoning behind it. I failed to do so. Yet, I wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. So, I tried to imagine the growth of alternatives. Disruptive? Could be. But I could not fathom why you would not atleast plan for it? If not presence, then absence at the least. Predicting the future is tricky. Agreed. But planning for the future in the present seems a fair deal. Not placing too much emphasis on the future also seems reasonable given the odds. However, I do not buy the notion of living in the present by turning a complete blind eye towards the future.

Here is something that I learned today. Some people are willing to take the risk in the future by claiming that the present is overwhelming. Some people wish to think about the bridge only when they cross the river. Right or wrong? I dont know. A matter of perspective I guess.