Today I finished reviewing an early copy of "Unbundling the Enterprise" by @fistsOfReason and @MattMcLartyBC. What a fantastic read, and I learned a ton, and it reinforced some fantastic lessons. Incredible business value is unlocked by creating or preserving option value. For instance, mdoualrity doesn't just create independence of action, but it enables unbundling capabilities, which itself can also unlock incredible value. Incontrovertible truths: 1. A winning strategy is: Plan early, but decide late (because you will have more information). This is good for applying for colleges, dating, but also business decisions — you don't want to say "yes" to the first option that presents itself. As they write, "slowing down the process of making commitments conserves 'optionality.'" 2. Dr. Carliss Baldwin taught us that option value is less valuable when consumer tastes are homogeneous and predictable. (i.e., all choices are the same) Option value is very valuable when consumer tastes are heterogenous or unpredictable, or when technology trajectories are uncertain. (i.e., there are wildly different choices) 3. Under most conditions, you want many simultaneous experiments happening in parallel (which modularity definitely enables). And you also want low cost of experimentation. Together, this allows the largest frontier of decisions to be evaluated. Okay, I have so many other notes — will dive into those another time. This is going to be a fantastic book! amazon.com/Unbundling-Enterp…

“Perhaps the disappearance of the workplace will increase modern anomie and loneliness. If community means “where you keep showing up,” then, for many people, the office is all that’s left. What happens when it goes the way of bowling leagues and weekly church attendance?”