You keep all the data and details of your previous attempts and runs to help you make an even more informed and efficient effort based on the learning and intellectual momentum you have. This way, you're not starting from scratch. Whether you get it right or learn a lesson, the choice is yours!"They never have the time and money to do it right the first time, but they always have the time and money to do it again."

Moonshot Compost Concept

Landing Moonshots
with Google’s Innovation Chief Dr. Astro Teller

There's a story about when Alexander the Great came across a very complex knot tied in front of a temple with a legend that the person who could untie it would conquer all of Asia. He simply walked up to the knot, pulled out his sword, and sliced through it. This became known as "cutting the Gordian knot." Sometimes, things can't be accomplished in the usual way. He found a completely different way of playing that game.

Cutting the Gordian Knot

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">If you want to train a monkey to stand on top of a pedestal and recite Shakespeare, the priority should be to train the monkey rather than build the pedestal. The reasoning is that the success of the project hinges on the more difficult aspect, and building the pedestal does not address the fundamental challenge.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">In real-world situations, this analogy often translates to prioritizing substantial but less risky tasks that give a sense of progress, such as building a metaphorical pedestal. This approach allows people to appear as if they are making significant progress. </li></ul>

The Monkey and The Pedestal

I hate failure. I don't want to fail. But I'm obsessed with learning and what we can get from learning.

Simon ascertains what Astro says by using the 1969 moon landing as a point of reference.  President Kennedy stated in his speech that the mission to the moon was a service to mankind, with the goal of advancing the human race forward. America had the "audacity" to dream of putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely. They faced many failed trials over a decade, but eventually with the right technological power, they achieved it.

The Actual Moonshot!

Astro uses the analogy of "moving from the mentality of a gambler to a card counter" to highlight the fact that they are aligned with efficiency standards, unlike the actual moon mission which had national security issues prioritized over efficiency. The approach cannot rely on pure luck or too much luck, rather it needs to align itself with efficiency. This is exactly what distinguishes a gambler from a card counter. It is not always about "Can we do it?" but rather "How efficiently can we do it?"

Shifting from a Gambler Mentality to a Card-Counter Mentality

The most fundamental thing we're doing is playing the long game and trying to have really high amounts of audacity so we're willing to go on these unlikely journeys but then with equally high levels of humility, knowing right from the beginning that it's probably not going to work and being able to be sanguine about it that we can be proud of going on the journey and then proud of turning off the journey when  it turns out it's not the right journey, instead of resisting that reality or going through a long grieving process when it turns out not to be the right thing to do.

1. Embracing failure as it is an essential part of the innovation process2. Create an environment where people feel comfortable taking risks and exploring new ideas3. Focus on the problem you're trying to solve, rather than getting attached to a specific solution4. Value diversity and collaboration in driving innovation5. Learn from failure

Responsibly Irresponsible

Astro further explains:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Be good at filtering ideas before investing time or money into them.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Understand the investment in terms of time and money. If an idea will consume too much of either, then it's probably not the best one to start testing out first.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">If your idea requires less time and money but has great learning potential, it should be considered.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Ideas must be sifted through, dismissing 'bad' ones based on reasoning and evidence.</li></ul>

Get to the 'No' quickly and Move On to the Next

When Simon asks Astro, "How do you get innovation out of people?"Astro breaks it down by describing what a Moonshot is. These three basic parts constitute a "Moonshot Story Hypothesis":<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">a huge problem that needs solving</li><li class="ql-align-justify">a proposed solution that sounds far-fetched and unlikely, but people agree it is probably a good solution</li><li class="ql-align-justify">a proposal that includes breakthrough technology that is better than solutions that are already known, but aren't solving the problem yet</li></ul>

A Big Enough Problem and an Imagined, Probably-Best Solution

A Bit of Optimism is a podcast by Simon Sinek that features conversations with people who inspire him about love, life, leadership, and hope. Here are a few learnings from this particular one with Astro Teller. 

Before Elon Musk rebranded Twitter, X was already in use — at Google. @XTheMoonshotFactory was Google’s secret research lab, where Google’s most imaginative ideas came to life.

As CEO and co-founder, Astro Teller’s job is to harness X’s wildest, most futuristic technology to solve the world’s hardest problems. The same “moonshot factory” that created Google Brain and Waymo self-driving cars is also working on carbon capture, laser-beam Internet, delivery drones, and more.

I sat down with Astro to discuss how we build cultures of radical innovation. He shares some useful wisdom about unlearning what we know and why the counterintuitive approach is the key to landing moonshots.

This…is A Bit of Optimism.

To learn more about Astro and his work, check out:
https://x.company/

⏰ Timestamps
0:00 The creation of Google X
6:11 Moonshots, gambling, and card-counting
17:25 The problem with "measure twice, cut once"
20:44 The monkey and the pedestal
29:24 How quickly can you get to "no"
43:55 Creativity is play, not win or lose
46:20 Alexander and the Gordian Knot

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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

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The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/
Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/
Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/
Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/
Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/

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Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Simon has devoted his life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.  Every day is an opportunity to inspire someone. 

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