johnmaconline

De-extinction. Should we be doing this?

We’ve brought dire wolves back to life. What’s next? Wolly mammoths and saber tooth tigers? 

Soon, it’s Jurassic Park.

Science and technology are wonderful engines that move us forward. On one hand, science and technology exist to solve problems. We generally agree on what those problems are. Not many people (although some, for sure) would rather have lived in 1225 than in 2025. Life was much harder in 1225. 

Thank you, science and technology. 

On the other hand, science and technology move forward through passion and excitement. Passion and excitement aren’t necessarily tied to objective or even subjective problem-solving. 

Sometimes, we just wanna try stuff that we think is cool. Because we can. 

Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. 

The juxtaposition of capability and incentives and ethics. How do we resolve it?

We might not need to slow down, but we definitely need to look up.

Here it is.

It was a weird, interesting, and ultimately successful (for him) idea — sell 1 million pixels of advertising on a webpage for $1 a piece. 

Rake in $1 million dollars. Done.

Alex put this up in 2006. If you go to the page now, it seems largely, possibly completely, unchanged from its initial inception. It’s kind of a cool snapshot of one side of the internet in 2006. There are lots of gambling ads, a bunch of “free” promises, companionship, some ads pointed at the fringes, and several promising to help you make money or get traffic. 

If you click on the pixels/ads, you’ll find that most are broken or redirect to something different than the original. 

It’s weird colors and images and is very clunky. It strikes me as Donkey Kong crossed with AOL. Nothing stands out (OK, I do see Thomas the Tank Engine). It’s a sea of 8-bit colors. The very opposite of useful advertising. 

Who could have possibly extracted the value supposedly provided by this page?

Nobody, of course.

Except Alex.

The manager looks for the right time.
The leader makes it the right time.

The manager sticks up for the process.
The leader sticks up for the endpoint.

The manager creates safety.
The leader creates tension.

The manager saves it for tomorrow.
The leader does it today.

The manager has authority.
The leader takes responsibility.

The manager waits for permission.
The leader acts regardless.

The manager has a good system for tracking and reporting status.
The leader turns reports into decisions.

The manager has an effective defensive posture.
The leader gets punched in the face.

The manager proceeds knowing it will work.
The leader proceeds knowing it might not work.

Good management is necessary in a well-functioning organization. The systems we all depend on daily need good management.

But let’s not confuse management with leadership.

Leaders are in short supply. Will you be one?

I recently detailed my system for Wordle.

I went on and on about how my system isn’t designed to solve the Wordle in a minimum number of tries. It’s designed to solve it within 6. There I was on my high horse about expectations and systems, wagging my proverbial finger, “Don’t expect an outcome it’s not designed for! If you don’t like the outcome, design a new system!”

And then it happened. I’d seen something similar one other time, as I mentioned, and I nailed it. I got excited. 

My first word:

Wow! Opportunity! I got this in 2! Screw the system!

And then, womp, womp, womp…

I went off script, and it sucked me into the Wordle quicksand. The seemingly easy but actually tricky one-letter problem. Which is it?

If I’d stayed with the system, I’da had it in three. 

Systems are designed to be followed. If you don’t like the outcome of your system, design a new system.

Let’s assume you’ve gotten out of bed (or maybe you’re reading this in bed, but definitely will get out of bed).

That means today can be the day.

Today can be the day you make the call.
Today can be the day you say “Hello.”
Today can be the day you clean it out.
Today can be the day you decide.
Today can be the day you cut it off.
Today can be the day you build it.
Today can be the day you get excited.
Today can be the day you learn it.
Today can be the day you cross it off the list.
Today can be the day you say it.
Today can be the day you stop.
Today can be the day you start.

So why not today?

Every interaction you have is some sort of pitch.

How’s your pitch deck?

Most pitches fail. Not because your idea is weak or your deck isn’t slick, but because the language is wrong.

You’re fluent in you. Your product, your roadmap, your excitement.

They’re fluent in them. Their pain, their pressure, their goals.

So your job is to translate. Turn your language into their language. Speak their language. It’s not about you. It’s about them.

Whether you’re pitching to a potential customer, leading your team, or discussing weekend plans with your spouse, speak their language.

If they don’t hear themselves in your pitch, you’ve already lost them.

You’ve done it. We’ve all done it.

“Don’t touch the hot stove!”

Yet, sometimes, you do it anyway. It’s not rational. It’s not you thinking it through (although you may convince yourself you are). You know, deep down or even on the surface, that you shouldn’t touch the hot stove. They’re right.

However, touching it yourself is the only way for you to feel the consequences.

And feeling the consequences is exactly the point.

That’s where you start.

If you don’t know or don’t know how to address the question of “why would they care,” you won’t get anywhere.

This is the main lesson I’ve learned over the last 9 months as we try to get 4TLAS off the ground. 

Why does someone care?

Fear. Pain. Status. Left out or left behind. Pressure.  

Not your skills.
Not your tech stack.
Not your “better” solution.

(although you’ll need those to help them succeed)

They care because something in their world feels urgent. Unsafe. Unfair.

If you don’t speak to that, they hear more cacophony or maybe silence.

I mistakenly assumed clarity. We’re a very niche product in a niche market. I assumed our people inherently understand what we do and how we can help. I assumed interest. I assumed people would connect the dots.

They didn’t. That was my fault. 

Because they had their own fire to put out, and smart and knowledgeable people are still people. They need you to address what they care about.

What’s keeping them up at night?
What’s at stake if they ignore us?
What happens if they choose nothing?

Why would they care?

That’s the real pitch. Everything else is noise.