Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

It`s sort of a given that entrepreneurs and startup businesses don`t usually have a whole lot of money. Not always, but it`s generally a part of life. As such, people are always looking at what they can do themselves before they can afford to hire, contract, or otherwise outsource.

We`ve had lots of discussions here about DYI (do it yourself), and in many of those discussions, there seems to be a sort of natural belief that anyone can do anything. On a theoretical and conceptual level, that`s mostly true. I`m not talking about physical contradictions, where, for example, the blind can see or the deaf can hear.

This is about the whole idea of skills---capablities that can be learned and put into practice to some level of competence.

Suppose you`re a piano player and singer, and you`ve been hired to work a small nightclub doing a jazz act. It`s a new club, and you`re doing well. The audience likes you, and the owner notices that more people show up to buy drinks when you`re playing than when you`re not.

One evening the owner comes up to you and says, "Listen, I need you to show the waitresses how to play the piano and sing so that in case you`re not here, they can do it. I need a sort of template so that anyone can do it."

What`s wrong with that picture?

The premise.

You are assuming that anybody can do anything, that is not the case. It is true that most can do almost everything but not anything. In your example it is a matter of musical talent and people`s skills, you can`t simple train and delegate that to anybody. He could however hire someone else that has those abilities though. That is what managers should do, not do the job, but find those who are (or could be) good at it.

Oh no.... Craig have you been hanging out at elance.com??   Ground zero for the templated wait staff...

—paula

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No, I`m not assuming this... :-) I`m observing that OTHER people seem to assume this! And that`s why I wrote out the example.

I`m also wondering how many other people here with specialized skills have noticed an apparent increase in the number of folks who make the same assumption.

Whatever happened to the sort of "common sense" understanding that some people can do things other people can`t do? Wasn`t that sort of, "...duh!..." back awhile ago, like when I was growing up?

Another issue with this belief not only that anyone CAN do anything, but everyone SHOULD be able to do anything: How many folks have noticed that software applications are increasingly being dumbed down?

I`m thinking as an example, Web editors. I read that it`s getting nearly impossible to find a Web editor that "allows" the end user to see the source code. That`d make it "too hard" for the average person, right? And what about the best of all example, Windows ME?

Where did we (as a culture) come up with this belief that anyone *should* be able to do whatever they want, wish, dream, hope, or hear about? And if they really and truly can`t, then the "thing" should be made idiot-proof and turned into a disposable commodity.

Is there a relationship between this belief and assumption, and the growing number of people whining about things "aren`t fair?"

Since starting this thread I`ve been reading about the dumbing down of America, and the unbelievable tragedy taking place in our school systems. I suspect that although there are countless places and arenas where this collapse in thinking shows evidence, Web site development and e-commerce may be one where it`s easier to see.

So the question becomes more to the order of whether or not an entire society can become too dumb to know that they`re dumb. If everyone "feels" that a sentence like "r u lookin 4 fun" is completely acceptable, then won`t the language change to reflect that?

If a large enough market demand calls for turnkey operations with almost no quality included, won`t that drive the production end? With a decreasing ability to determine quality, it seems eventually the concept will be defined by consensus.

As Ripose suggests, the growing number of idiotic Web sites, bad writing, and odd forums seems to me to be related to this theme. Content doesn`t matter anymore---in school, and thereafter in the wider world. Instead, the intention and symbol of that content is what`s important.

In other words, a Web site doesn`t have to look good or function accurately. What matters is that you have a Web site and URL. That`s what our kids have been taught for the past three decades.

There`s an aspect to the web that is only marginally present in the school system — any given website is entirely voluntary. No one is compelled to visit any website. (I`ve been to Facebook & Myspace perhaps 6 times each, ever, because I find them so intolerable.) So, on the web there is an element of self-selection... idiots are attracted to idiotic sites, and non-idiots are attracted to quality sites. If your target audience are idiots, why put forth the effort to code & design well? In fact, you might defeat your purpose if you don`t design for your audience.

The number of truly excellent sites may be a lot less than ridiculous sites, but the fact is there are still tons of them, far too many to list. I don`t think the internet is in any danger from idiocy, except possibly idiotic policy. As long as no one is compelled to view, or abstain from viewing, any given sites, it will all shake out organically in the end.

—paula