Modesty as a Technology Elite attribute by Vinnie Mirchandani.
From the post:
The core of my new book is about 12 attributes of what I describe as the industry’s elites. 12 adjectives – 3Es, 3Ms, 3Ps and 3Ss – made the cut: Elegant, Exponential, Efficient, Mobile, Maverick, Malleable, Physical, Paranoid, Pragmatic, Speedy, Social, Sustainable. (The TOC and links to excerpts are here). Each attribute has its own chapter – the first half has 5 to 7 cameo examples of that attribute, the second half is a fuller case study. So the Elegant chapter focuses on Human Centered Design, Google’s Doodles, Jonathan Ive of Apple, John Lasseter of Pixar and others, and the case study is Virgin America and how it has redefined the flying experience with technology.
One attribute I had on my long list was “Modest”. I had a case study identified, but struggled to find 5 to 7 cameos for the first half of the chapter. Let’s face it, it’s an elusive attribute in our industry where vendors send you press releases for every obscure award they qualify for:)
Curious, when was the last time you advised a client your product or approach wasn’t the best solution for their problem?
Isn’t that part of being modest?
If you are a customer, when was the last time you asked a vendor or even consultant to suggest an alternative solution, one that did not involve their product or services? If you have ever asked that question, how would you evaluate the answer you got?