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Successfully Solving Unsolved Problems with Jim McKelvey
Jim McKelvey is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, philanthropist, artist, and perhaps most notably the co-founder of the financial services juggernaut Square. He served as the chairman of its board until 2010 and still serves on the Board of Directors. In 2011, his iconic card reader design was inducted into the Museum of Modern Art. In 2016, McKelvey also founded Invisibly, an ambitious project to rewire the economics of online content. He is a Deputy Chair of the St. Louis Federal Reserve and is the author of the recently-released book entitled The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
- People do very little of “inventing new”—we copy because it works.
- If you are doing something that’s never been done before, it is impossible for you (or anyone else) to be qualified to do it.
- Perfect problems are solvable problems which have not been solved yet.
- Innovation is building a series of new things to solve an unsolved problem.
- There are very few original things in our day-to-day lives, but originality is required for solving unsolved problems.
- The companies that innovate tend to create their own market.
- Invention doesn’t have a checklist.
- The Innovation Stack looks like this: If you have to do one thing successfully, the chance of your competitor’s success may be 80% (0.8). If you do two things successfully, they likelihood of their success is 64% (0.8)2. This continues with each added item/area of success.
- There are two reasons people give up: 1. They are absolutely exhausted 2. They quite in a rational way (e.g. they decide it will never work). But most innovation comes when people work through the second.
- Most world-leading entrepreneurs and innovators were accidentally put on the path to entrepreneurship by a physical calamity.
QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION
- What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Wait. Timing is extremely important.
- Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Curious, humble, and accidental.
- What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Why not? If not me, then who?
- What book would you recommend to leaders? The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Do something that makes you slightly uncomfortable.
- As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” It depends on your stage of life. Ask “why?” to learn how things work. This is the baseline. After that, ask “why not?”
Website:
https://www.jimmckelvey.com/
Find Jim on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckelveyjim/ (in/mckelveyjim)
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By Josh Friedeman
4.9
4242 ratings
Jim McKelvey is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, philanthropist, artist, and perhaps most notably the co-founder of the financial services juggernaut Square. He served as the chairman of its board until 2010 and still serves on the Board of Directors. In 2011, his iconic card reader design was inducted into the Museum of Modern Art. In 2016, McKelvey also founded Invisibly, an ambitious project to rewire the economics of online content. He is a Deputy Chair of the St. Louis Federal Reserve and is the author of the recently-released book entitled The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
- People do very little of “inventing new”—we copy because it works.
- If you are doing something that’s never been done before, it is impossible for you (or anyone else) to be qualified to do it.
- Perfect problems are solvable problems which have not been solved yet.
- Innovation is building a series of new things to solve an unsolved problem.
- There are very few original things in our day-to-day lives, but originality is required for solving unsolved problems.
- The companies that innovate tend to create their own market.
- Invention doesn’t have a checklist.
- The Innovation Stack looks like this: If you have to do one thing successfully, the chance of your competitor’s success may be 80% (0.8). If you do two things successfully, they likelihood of their success is 64% (0.8)2. This continues with each added item/area of success.
- There are two reasons people give up: 1. They are absolutely exhausted 2. They quite in a rational way (e.g. they decide it will never work). But most innovation comes when people work through the second.
- Most world-leading entrepreneurs and innovators were accidentally put on the path to entrepreneurship by a physical calamity.
QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION
- What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? Wait. Timing is extremely important.
- Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: “A leader is…” Curious, humble, and accidental.
- What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? Why not? If not me, then who?
- What book would you recommend to leaders? The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Do something that makes you slightly uncomfortable.
- As a general life principle, is it better to ask “why?” or “why not?” It depends on your stage of life. Ask “why?” to learn how things work. This is the baseline. After that, ask “why not?”
Website:
https://www.jimmckelvey.com/
Find Jim on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckelveyjim/ (in/mckelveyjim)