It is a mistake for most leaders to focus their energy on the outer edge of technology’s reach. In a connected world, there is rarely a new thought. The spontaneous development at the edge of technical reach clusters itself around core themes, and these themes evolve in theoria before they do in praxis. The greatest opportunity for arbitraging intellectual effort is in the second and third tiers inside the outer edge. It is here that original thinking produces the greatest impact. Elon Musk’s pursuits were successful not because they were radical in their ultimate telos, but rather because they were radical in how they executed against a telos that has been pursued by many others. Tomorrow’s most productive thinking will likely be focused at least two tiers from the edge of technology’s reach.
