Alex RaineyAlex is an experienced CTO and founder who largely focuses on all the technical areas of My AskAI, from AI Engineering, Technical Product Management and overall Platform Development.
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Jul 15, 2024 11:44 AM
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Feb 14, 2024
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The Story of an Organisation Most of Us Have Never Heard Of, But Has Likely Had an Impact Greater Than Any Other
Fascinating read for startup founders —"The Idea Factory"(recommended by David Friedberg).
It's about Bell Labs, the research arm of AT&T back in the mid-1900s 👇
This Company Was an Innovation Machine
To list only a few of the monumental things they had a pivotal role in:
- Transistor (essential for digital comms)
- Laser
- Radar
- UNIX (the original operating system for computers)
- Sending digital data (instead of analogue 'waves')
What's There to Learn for Founders?
- How to structure your organisation and think about innovationin a way that allows you to lead in your respective field, instead of just following. Giving certain teams huge autonomy, a wide scope, and limited constraints.
- How to think completely outside the box when new technologies become available, e.g. AI in today's world. Avoid the mistakes so many companies made when the internet came along, who were sceptical, slow, or just inept.
- My favourite: How to step back from the weeds of your business and think about the bigger picture.Asking yourself what medium and long-term bets you're making that will help you stay ahead of your competition.
I'm confident this will energise the founders who read it.
Written by
Alex Rainey
Alex is an experienced CTO and founder who largely focuses on all the technical areas of My AskAI, from AI Engineering, Technical Product Management and overall Platform Development.
