102: Road Signs, Rapid Prototypes, and Productive Confusion

While sipping homegrown bay leaf tea, we explore how road signs, surprises, and deliberate confusion can unlock better thinking.

From missing signs under railway bridges to the tangled journey of Google Glass, we trace how aporia — the ancient art of being productively confused — can help you build faster, align better, and see the hidden struggles that are gonna derail your projects.

• Why some signs should disappear to make things flow better
• How "productive confusion" can trigger better decision making
• What Google Glass, magic roundabouts, and fast food kitchens have in common
• How to rapid prototype a billion-dollar product... with clay and wire
• The curse of "pseudolignment" and how to catch it before it wrecks your team
• The Align-o-matic: an emerging tool to help you spot hidden assumptions early

Linky goodness:

• Magic Roundabout (Swindon, UK): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)
• "A symphony of efficiency, not a waste of motion" from The Founder: https://youtu.be/F-7cjdtrQ9Y?si=3eyzPlVq71Ws-R8o
• Tom Chi rapid prototyping: https://youtu.be/d5_h1VuwD6g?si=h29WjP8xvX3vxPak
• Rory Sutherland on defensive decision-making: https://fs.blog/defensive-decision-making/
• Zeigarnik Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeigarnik_effect
• We may have confused Zeigarnik with Ovsiankina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovsiankina_effect

Innovation Tactics cards we mentioned:

• Language Market Fit: front | back
• Solve for Distribution: front | back
• Hard Test Easy Life: front | back
• Time Machine: front | back

Get your copy of Innovation Tactics: https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics

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