Technology

There are 2 posts filed in Technology (this is page 1 of 1).

College is an investment

Peter Thiel the “legendary” investor who brought us companies like PayPal has an interesting “thesis” on higher education; it’s in a bubble.

It’s true that college is losing relevancy in many fields and market sectors. And yes it is becoming more and more expensive to attend. Heck as someone who went to school to be a teacher (and never became one because of what I saw “in” the system), the whole education system in this country needs an overhaul. Fast.

However, education, college or otherwise, should always be thought of as an investment. An investment that includes time plus money (and interest in some cases), which needs ultimately to provide a return over time (an increased wage over what would be earned without the education). In the past college was a great investment because it gave a great return (like Microsoft when it was a growth stock).

Having a college degree all but ensured you would make X% more per year (and thus you could afford the loan repayment while still having more cash in your pocket (your return)).
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Stop Pressing the Button

Every organization and every role within it has the button.

You were shown how to press the button when you were hired. If you started your own company you probably created the button.

You were given responsibility for pressing the button. You love pushing the button.

You are fasicnated by the button; how it works, the way it looks and the result it produces.

You press the button everyday. Eventually it becomes your day.

That’s when your problems begin.

The moment you go from thinking about how the button works, the way it looks and the results it produces and simply start pressing it,is the moment you leave yourself vulnerable.

Vulnerable to being replaced by software that automates the pushing of the button. Vulnerable to the person who can press the button more efficiently.

Even worse, vulnerable a competitor who can come out of no where with a better to “press the button.”

It doesn’t have to end like this, though. You have a choice.

Rather than simply pressing the button, go back to where you once were. The place were you started pressing the button.

Start thinking about how the button works. Why you are pressing the button.

And most importantly what you can do to make pressing the button more efficient and effective.

Never stop.

Otherwise you’ll find yourself looking back and saying, “Doh!”