Dean Kamen on The Luke Arm. Simply Amazing.(medgadget.com)
medgadget.com
Dean Kamen on The Luke Arm. Simply Amazing.
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/09/the_luke_arm_at_all_things_d.html
4 comments
Thanks for posting this! Extremely interesting.
Here's another very interesting story involving Dean Kamen, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3533.html
Here's another very interesting story involving Dean Kamen, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3533.html
This excerpt was awesome. Thanks for posting.
Agreed. Any man who can listen to Jobs prattle on about imacs and then tell him that his invention sucks, but simply take it in stride as one guy's opinion...
Much respect to Dean. Wow.
Much respect to Dean. Wow.
I would say, much respect to Jobs, given that his analysis seems to be correct in retrospect.
E.g.:
"You're sure your market is upscale consumers for transportation?" said Jobs.
Turns out Segways weren't a hit with the target market and they ended up selling to enterprises and mailmen. Bezos had some good analysis too saying the real question is whether it would be legal to ride them - in many places it was illegal to drive Segways on either sidewalks or roads.
Of course, I don't have their initial presentations so it's possible they were already expecting these to be their main problems. I just think it's unfair to call it "prattling on" when in fact they were giving some pretty accurate analysis on why the product wouldn't be a success.
E.g.:
"You're sure your market is upscale consumers for transportation?" said Jobs.
Turns out Segways weren't a hit with the target market and they ended up selling to enterprises and mailmen. Bezos had some good analysis too saying the real question is whether it would be legal to ride them - in many places it was illegal to drive Segways on either sidewalks or roads.
Of course, I don't have their initial presentations so it's possible they were already expecting these to be their main problems. I just think it's unfair to call it "prattling on" when in fact they were giving some pretty accurate analysis on why the product wouldn't be a success.
The respect wasn't about who was right. Jobs is right a lot. That's why I think its cool that Dean pushed on and believed in his invention anyway. The world might just not be "hot, flat and crowded" enough for Segway yet.
I wonder what I might do if I had an invention and Steve Jobs told me it sucked, or if I got Bill Gates' trademark "thats the stupidest f*cking idea I've heard since I've been at Mircosoft." Considering their advice, shrugging my shoulders and then pressing on anyway might not be high on the list.
I wonder what I might do if I had an invention and Steve Jobs told me it sucked, or if I got Bill Gates' trademark "thats the stupidest f*cking idea I've heard since I've been at Mircosoft." Considering their advice, shrugging my shoulders and then pressing on anyway might not be high on the list.
It is cool that Dean pushed on anyways, but perhaps it would have been cooler if he had listened to Jobs, and spent a bit more time building a product that didn't suck.
Either way, it's tough when you have a big bang strategy like this, because you can't iterate, you have to just decide when it's cool enough and then launch. If that decision's wrong, you're in trouble. It might be necessarily to go big bang here, though, because you need the cooperation of so many large organizations (like, governments need to legalize your product) and the goal is to help that along through PR.
Either way, it's tough when you have a big bang strategy like this, because you can't iterate, you have to just decide when it's cool enough and then launch. If that decision's wrong, you're in trouble. It might be necessarily to go big bang here, though, because you need the cooperation of so many large organizations (like, governments need to legalize your product) and the goal is to help that along through PR.
The world might just not be "hot, flat and crowded" enough for Segway yet.
According to New York city officials, New York is already too crowded for Segways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/nyregion/12segway.html
Gov. David A. Paterson signed a law in July legalizing Segways everywhere else in the state.
Officials in New York City, where many streets are already clogged with taxis, tourists, dogs and double-wide strollers, deliberately asked lawmakers to leave the city out of the bill. ...
“To introduce a foreign, unproven, untested element into the mix complicates the job before us, which is to make the most efficient use of city streets,” said Noah Budnick, deputy director of Transportation Alternatives, a New York advocacy group.
According to New York city officials, New York is already too crowded for Segways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/nyregion/12segway.html
Gov. David A. Paterson signed a law in July legalizing Segways everywhere else in the state.
Officials in New York City, where many streets are already clogged with taxis, tourists, dogs and double-wide strollers, deliberately asked lawmakers to leave the city out of the bill. ...
“To introduce a foreign, unproven, untested element into the mix complicates the job before us, which is to make the most efficient use of city streets,” said Noah Budnick, deputy director of Transportation Alternatives, a New York advocacy group.
I think the idea might be that if there are more Segways, there could be less cars. We're talking about a level of crowded here that's a little less like Its SO crowded in this city that I can hardly find a place to park and a little more like a CAR?! Those things haven't been allowed inside the city limits for years!
This was also prescient:
"I know burn rates are important, but you'll only get one shot at this, and if you blow it, it's over."
I would say this is basically what happened with the Segway.
"I know burn rates are important, but you'll only get one shot at this, and if you blow it, it's over."
I would say this is basically what happened with the Segway.
At one point in the interview Dean says that's he's naive. That's a great thing since anybody else would write what he's accomplished off as impossible without even trying.
Not to take anything away from his work on the arm but I find his comments on the US's education system and our cultural values from the last two videos the most interesting.
Not to take anything away from his work on the arm but I find his comments on the US's education system and our cultural values from the last two videos the most interesting.
I agree. Barring absurdly high levels of natural talent, wanting to do well at something is the first step to doing it. It amazes me that this point has been lost on a lot of people.
I remember a team from my school winning the national competition in Germany and being invited to Atlanta with their Lego Robots. "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" is as amazing as his work in prosthetics.
HN talks a lot about startups and I'm sure most of HN's readers dream of their own startup. Something to think about before taking the plunge is "What benefit is this startup offering?" It can't be just to "make a lot of money". That's why I like what Dean has done. Sure he has made a lot of money, but look at how much he's helped people.
They solve some really tough problems, but the rewards are unbelievable. The video show's a guy named Chuck who has no arms and hasn't fed himself in 13 years, feeding himself. I mean can you even put a price on that kind of reward.
That's the kind of thing that drives you. That keeps you going even when things seem hopeless.