Genius NOT Needed
- Marty Schad
- Oct 24, 2018
- 2 min read
This week I’d like to talk about something a little different than usual.
Cleverness and genius are overrated.
What’s that? How can I say that? Let me give you some “food for thought” about this.
Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett’s indispensable partner at Berkshire Hathaway. They have worked together for many years. Their investment successes are legendary.
Charlie is an amazing person, and his writings are well worth studying. Some of his knowledge can be gleaned from his pithy quotes which have been called “Mungerisms”.
My all-time favorite Mungerism:
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”
I think this is a tremendously valuable insight. It means that we do not have to be brilliant all the time, but that we can achieve success by consistently being non-stupid.
Consistent non-stupidity will help us avoid many of the problems we encounter. It is kind of liberating: we don’t always have to be brilliant because we can make solid progress by trying to be consistently not stupid.
This sounds trivial and simple but it is not. It is not easy to do, either. It is much easier said than done.
However, when I reflect on most of the problems I have encountered, non-stupidity would have gone a long way in avoiding many of them.
What does non-stupidity mean in terms of crafting and building robust manufacturing processes? A (very partial list) includes:
Be sure you can consistently make key samples of interest at will, and that you have not supplied a customer a “lucky” sample they love but you cannot make again.
Have written SOPs for all of your processes, even at an early stage.
Look at manufacturability ruthlessly and early.
Understand the impact of incoming material variations before committing to high-volume production.
YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK
Please think about the Mungerism discussed above…
Does it make you think about any (known but not acted on) loose-ends that are needed to create a great process?
Can this concept of non-stupidity be applied to a key project you are currently working on?
I’d enjoy hearing about how the concept of non-stupidity resonates with you. Please send your thoughts to me at marty@martyschad.com, or call me at 508-410-8081. I would enjoy discussing this idea with you!
All the Best, Marty
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