Wednesday 10 December 2014

When dependencies aren't

What would you say if I asked you if you could drive a car without wheels? What about without a stereo or air-conditioning?

Have you ever caught yourself thinking something along these lines:
  • I’d love to contact that person but I don’t have a website
  • I could publish that book but I don’t have an established following
  • I could try to make some sales but I don’t have a product


Driving a car without wheels isn't plausible. Driving a car long-distance without a stereo or some kind of climate control might be unpleasant but it’s definitely possible and opens up the potential for other rewards.


The trick is telling the difference.

2 comments:

  1. You might want to look at:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory

    Wheels are hygiene factors - without them you're scuppered.
    Stereos are motivators - you don't need them but they make you want to drive.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment Ian. I hadn't heard of the Two Factor Theory before. Looks like an interesting area to read up on.

      It's also interesting the two different ways to look at the point I was trying to make. Your approach is just as valid as my angle which is that sometimes we treat things as being dependencies, or requiring serialisation, when actually they are relatively independent.

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