danielheaf.com: Work on stuff that matters

What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.

When we win it’s with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.

From "The Man Watching" by Rainer Maria Rilke

This week I'm on holiday in San Jose, which has to be one of the most boring cities I've ever had the misfortune to visit. Luckily I'm not here for the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium or History Park but for the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference which continues to be the most thought provoking and brain stretching of conferences.

On the opening night Tim O'Reilly gave his traditional radar keynote but unusually and unlike previous years he seemed less concerned with the future or emerging opportunities but focused on the demands of today.

These are tough times and Tim urged us to take on the current economic crisis and take advantage of a new administration at the White House. While his talk was very US focused it helped me think in more depth about the types of challenges we should be trying to tackle through 4iP and more broadly about the role of UK public service media on digital platforms.

Work on stuff that matters

The time has come for UK broadcasters with digital ambitions and anyone involved in digital to think more deeply and work on stuff that really matters. I agree with Tim when he says 'we have greatness in us' but 'we've wasted it on so much'. Now is the time to move onto really big thinking. This goes to the heart of why 4iP was formed.

Tim told the story of Shai Agassi who quit his job as a software executive at SAP to rethink the business model for the electric car. Granted this is a huge challenge and he might not succeed but that's partly the point. Shai's company Better Place might not achieve sustainable transportation, global energy independence and freedom from oil but we'll almost certainly learn something important in the process.

Through it's funding I hope 4iP can encourage people to start something not necessarily to get rich and famous but to work on something really hard and something that matters. I love the story of the developer who quit is job at Google to go work for an organisation trying to make solar cheaper than coal saying he thought it would be fun because the maths was harder. Jobs working on stuff that really matters that's really hard is really fun.

So as a commissioner and as a team we have to accept that the ideas we fund might not work and accept that we're unlikely to crack some of the really big problems first time. But let's remember the importance of having a go. As I've seen on the web for over ten years now pioneering generates momentum and waves that can propel others forward. Together we mustn't be afraid to dream big.

It's not all about non-profits

Because of it's public service remit people continue to think 4iP is about non-profits or maybe social ventures. From time to time 4iP might fund a non-profit but I don't think we should relegate everything important to non-profits. Generating revenue above and beyond sustainability is an important part of the answer. However, to focus too much on the bottom line is more of a problem.

Tim uses a lovely metaphor of going to on a road trip when talking about business and business models in this space. When you're on a road trip you need to pay attention to the gas tank just like when you're running a business you need to think about revenue. But the 4iP road trip is not a tour of gas stations. I definitely think its more important to think about what you want to accomplish not weather or not it's going to financially succeed or not.

Alongside this comes a bit of personal advice that you can take or leave. Find something that matters to you that's worth more than money. Passion for your subject goes a long way in my book when I'm looking through the submission system. Passion stands out on the page.

If you're weighing up weather or not to submit a 4iP proposal against taking the road to fame and fortune by developing the coolest Facebook or iPhone application consider this. If you're working on a project for the money and you fail you're probably going to feel like you've wasted your time. On the other hand, if you work on something you love that delivers some public good and you make a small improvement in the world because of what you care about then that's going to feel a whole load more worthwhile.

Take the Long View

Part of what we need to do when working on big challenges is to take the long view. A good example here is the good folk at MySociety who have been working on e-democracy and government transparency for many many years. It wasn't popular in 2003 like it is now with conferences and think tanks popping up all over the place.

Sometimes, just like in science fiction where you can travel at the speed of light, you need to set things in motion and then go to meet up with them five or ten years later. At 4iP we shouldn't need to be sure of the outcome or know the future but we should rise to meet it.

Many of today's economic, environment, social and organisation problems haven't crept up on us but we've been too concerned with the present and hooked on immediate success to notice them or tackle them effectively.

Create more value that you capture

There is probably no better example of too much value being captured than the current world banking crisis. Many of those involved in the management of banks were seemingly complicit in the failing of the economy because of their drive to capturing value for themselves or their organisation. Greed had become systemic in the economic system.

In contrast, Tim Berners Lee created the the web as a simple system and let it evolve to create enormous amounts of value. The web set a few rules and left the rest for us to do. Twitter, Google Maps and Wikipedia were built on similar principals and have created enormous value.

Generosity is at the heart of generating value rather than capturing it. 4iP needs to be generous and not just in a fiscal sense. We must try to create more value than we capture by helping you to build your ideas and tell your story.

Ultimately, that's 4iP's raison d'etre. We must work to helping you take on those giant challenges that matter to you. The world is full of big crunchy problems - find a place where you can make a difference and send it in.