Default Laziness, Innovation Culture, and the Outsourcing Trap with Michael Meyer

Episode Summary:
In a thought-provoking dialogue, host Callye Keen engages with Michael Meyer, an intrapreneur innovator, in discussing the complex intersection of software and hardware. They delve into the transformation of the design process, the challenges of reaching end users, the impact of bureaucratic barriers, and the power of innovation to overcome these hurdles.

Topic Highlights:

00:00 - Innovation Culture
Meyer attributes this shift from a checklist-based approach to a more iterative, experimental innovation culture largely to a new generation of leaders within the military who view the world differently. As the mentality towards innovation shifted, it sparked the rise of new initiatives and gave birth to a culture that encourages open opinions and problem-solving.

11:30 - “Default Laziness”
Callye and Meyer discuss the current business culture of "default laziness", where organizations tend to outsource any complex problem that arises rather than dealing with it internally.

18:44 - Rethinking the Engineering Process
Meyer underscores the shift in engineering, particularly as hardware's rapid evolution slows, and attention focuses on maximizing data utility and developing efficient software that fits within existing hardware constraints.

19:54 - The Software Age and Hardware Constraints
Michael suggests we're in the 'software age,' where due to the increasing cost and complexity of advancing physical technologies, focus has shifted to software design, data compression, and usefulness of data.

22:06 - Innovation as Communication Solution
Discussing the rise of AI, Meyer notes that much innovation is driven by the challenge of bypassing bureaucratic barriers to effective communication, creating systems that infer and predict needs, reducing the need for explicit instruction.

23:36 - Hardware as Software's Residence
Keen describes his role in creating adaptable and modular hardware systems to accommodate varying data and software needs. He emphasizes that modern hardware's primary function is to enable data collection and transformation.

25:28 - The Misunderstood Relationship of Hardware and Software
Meyer challenges the notion that "software is eating hardware," suggesting instead that software development is now being forced to adapt to hardware constraints, leading to more efficient and thoughtful software design.

26:27 - Software Design Influencing Hardware
Meyer presents Tesla as an example of a company that's mastered the art of developing software and then building hardware to support it. This reverse approach could potentially simplify physical building.

Parting Thought:
"At the end of the day, what makes you an innovator, especially in today's world, is aligning passion. Find what matters the most to you in your life, and then just use that as your inspiration for all your solutions." - Michael Meyer

Callye Keen - Kform
https://kform.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/callyekeen/
https://youtube.com/@kforminc 
https://twitter.com/CallyeKeen

Michael Meyer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-meyer-3a4442156