November 6

Timing

How do you know which of your ideas is ready to put into the world? Phil Libin, founder and former CEO of Evernote, believes that the best ideas are ones that technology has just made possible for the first time in history but that are still difficult to achieve. Difficulty means that many won’t try them, but the fact that it’s possible for the first time means that you can step into a space that others haven’t yet considered. The conver- gence ofjust became possibleandstill kind of difficultis the place where tremendous, unexpected value can be created.

Are you working on anything that meets that description? Maybe there’s an idea that you’ve been exploring, but it doesn’t quite seem like it’s ready for prime time. How can you alter the idea so that you’re doing something that’s only recently possible and still really difficult to do? By concentrating your efforts on these sorts of ideas, you are likely to uncover value that others haven’t. And you may even surprise yourself with what you accomplish.

The biggest value in your work lies at the intersection of things that just became possible and things that are still difficult to accomplish.

QUESTION

As you consider your work, which ideas lie at the intersection of these two dynamics?