Capital Efficiency Isaac Shi Capital Efficiency Isaac Shi

Walking with Two Legs and Capital Efficiency

A few years ago, anthropologists identified Energy Efficiency as the main reason for the evolution to upright walking. The study suggested that humans walking on two legs only used one-quarter of the energy than that of the chimpanzees who knuckle-walked on four legs, providing support for the hypothesis that human bipedalism evolved due to the fact that it used less energy than walking with four legs.

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Disruptive Innovation Isaac Shi Disruptive Innovation Isaac Shi

No Sword in the Hand

There are two types of innovation: Sustaining Innovation (better & sharper sword) and Disruptive Innovation (Slingshot). Goliath was in fact good at sustaining innovation: he sharpened his sword every day, and he worked out every day like Conan the barbarian. Incumbent companies actually do this type of incremental innovation well, but they often miss out on the disruptive one, the one that will change the rules of the game forever.

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Technical Debt Isaac Shi Technical Debt Isaac Shi

Technical Debt Ceiling

The US Congress and the White House are engaging in a historic debate over the federal debt ceiling. All problems tend to be accumulated over time; the longtime negligence and lack of action because of political inconvenience are the reasons for the current Federal debt crisis. Software development shares a remarkably similar pattern.

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Software Development Process Isaac Shi Software Development Process Isaac Shi

Ben-Hur's Chariot Race and Software Development

Ben-Hur was a driver worthy of the fine horses he had. He knew his horses and was able to make the four run like one. His opponent, the Roman general Messala, was equipped with much better gear but still lost to Ben-Hur because his chariot crashed and disintegrated; Ben-Hur arrived first at the finish line because his horses ran as a team, both fast on the lanes and steady at turns.

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