Introduction
Welcome to The ContraMind Code.
The ContraMind Code provides you with a system of principles, signals, and ideas to aid you in your pursuit of excellence.
The Newsletter shares the source code, through quick snapshots, for a systems thinking approach to be the best in what you do.
The Code helps you reboot and reimagine your thinking by learning from the best and enables you to draw a blueprint on what it takes to get extraordinary things done. Please share your valuable thoughts and comments and start a conversation.
Take a journey to www.contraminds.com. Listen and watch some great minds talking to us about their journey of discovery of what went into making them craftsmen of their profession to drive peak performance.
Too big to live, too loved to die: Big Tech's billion-dollar curse of the free
In this thought-provoking article, Rupert Goodwins, a British writer, broadcaster and technology journalist, writes about the challenges facing big tech giants like Amazon and Google and the whirlpool they may have got themselves into with their freemium model.
Take a look at the nature of the implosion that is waiting to happen:
Amazon is burning billions on Alexa because voice assistants need massive infrastructure but can't be monetised.
If Google isn’t making any money from you on Gmail, and there are billions like you, the numbers can explode in no time. Even if the company is only losing a cent a day per free user, that's $3.5bn a year for a billion users.
Google is still immensely wealthy and can put off hard decisions for a while. So this year will be very hard, quarter by quarter, and the conversation may look very different in 2024.
Rupert ends it with a lovely line - “ There may be no good exit strategy for Google, and so the question becomes – is there one for you?”
Qualcomm - A Peek Into Its Business History
This is a brilliant version of the history of one of the most outstanding companies of this era, Qualcomm, narrated very engagingly by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal of Acquired.
What’s truly phenomenal is how long back Ben and David had tracked and researched the company, the industry, its business and how it started even before the company was formed. Also, listening to the history of a company like this breaks the myth of that success, and business breakthroughs happen overnight and quickly. Also, it brings to reality that even the most brilliant engineers and innovators go through years of deep research, discovery, and twists and turn in their career, and how these people meet or come in touch with others before great opportunities, ideas and companies are born.
Why Do You Procrastinate Even When It Feels Bad
It’s this time of the year when you make a lot of resolutions - it could be resolutions to do with your fitness, reading new books, travelling, learning, working etc. However, it is interesting to know just 9-12% of people keep up their New Year resolutions. One of the reasons may be procrastination to keep committing sufficient time to some of the resolutions you may have committed to throughout the year.
What is the science behind procrastination and how to avoid procrastination is explained very well in the Ted-Ed Video series. You can watch and apply this to your New Year's Resolutions and make it a year of zero procrastination to any commitments you have made for yourself.
The Concoction That Spurs Innovation and Growth
Listening to the Acquired Podcast on Qualcomm, one thing is very evident - some great professors and institutions laid the foundation for American dominance as a superpower. Moreover, these professors inspired a whole new generation by teaching, researching, inventing and becoming catalysts in building some great companies that changed society and shaped the course of many industries.
Take, for example, Irwin Jacobs, who founded Qualcomm. He was an associate and assistant professor at MIT and a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego. What was incredible is that he did not stick to teaching but was a curious researcher and went on to become a successful businessman! Or take the example of Claude Shannon, who was a professor at MIT. In 1956 he joined the MIT faculty and had many inventions to his credit. He again collaborated closely with some great minds like John Von Neumann, Vannevar Bush, Hermann Weyl etc., which laid the foundation for the digital revolution we see today. Or Richard Feynman’s contribution to Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Thermodynamics etc. These are just a few names that make the point. What’s interesting is that a bunch of German and British professors in educational and research institutions also laid the foundation for some of this work and played a role in these countries getting at the forefront of innovation and leadership in their times for their countries to be at the top of the world. Also, what is fantastic to see is the contribution of Government Institutions acting as a catalyst, providing funding support for some of the research and inventions.
When Government, Educational institutions, Talented, Ambitious and Curious Professors and the Industry come together, this is a magic recipe for ideas, innovation, research and inventions and large-scale economic impact. They act as a bedrock for inspiring the next generation to do further research, convert past research work and inventions into industrial or business applications and create a bunch of entrepreneurs who build great companies. This is a virtuous cycle which then gains momentum on its own. More importantly, when such a combination comes together and works in tandem, the lag effect of the economic and business impact comes 2-3 decades later!
Some of the lessons we learnt from this week’s mission:
Big Tech has big economic holes. The question to ask ourselves is whether big tech firms are reaching a maturity lifecycle, and with an economic downturn looming, it will be interesting to observe how they transform themselves.
Business History teaches us many great lessons in patience, perseverance, unexpected opportunities that may pop up, a bunch of people who may come into your life that can change the course of what you do etc. So, being mindful of this is critical.
Procrastination occurs due to a chemical change in your brain. Could you find a way to cheat this by breaking down what you want to do into smaller tasks?