Copying can be a Good Thing (Sometimes)

Eugene Wei makes some interesting points on the topic of copying the work of others. Quite often, it isn’t just copying – rather, what’s being “copied” serves as the inspiration:

“Isn't this how innovation happens? We stand on the shoulder of giants and all that? Good artists copy, great artists steal?”

In case you’re wondering, that last line (on what artists do) is by Steve Jobs.

 

If a work of literature (or parts of it) is copied, we rightly call it plagiarism. But interestingly, in the world of business, an old idea can be copied and tried again (as long as it doesn’t violate copyrights, patents and trademarks). How’s that? In layman English, we say an idea was ahead of its time. In business parlance, it’s called “product-market fit” mismatch – a product, like an idea, that is too ahead of its time won’t succeed. Which is why the same product/idea relaunched later might succeed:

“One day, the conditions are finally right, and an idea that has failed ten times before suddenly breaks out. Sometimes it's a tweak in execution, maybe it's an advance in complementary or enabling technology, sometimes it's a cultural shift.”

 

This also explains why an older, existing company can miss the Next Big Thing:

“This (tendency to recollect an earlier attempt that failed) is why rejecting companies that are trying something that's been tried before is so dangerous. It's lazy pattern-matching.”

Which is why Wei says:

“You should bring some ideas back when a new smart person, or maybe a naive overconfident one, enters the room and champions the idea (that has either failed or been dismissed earlier).”

 

Many thought provoking points…