Tools beyond Scale

If you have a business idea, the first person you go to for advice will say 'think about scale' or ask 'how will it scale'. Scale has become the layer (aka scale) that prevents further discussion.

Of course, they mean the verb and not the noun. While we now believe the limit for any new thought is well beyond the sky, it helps to recall the other meanings of scale - balance and appreciate that scale in music goes gradually.

Scale measures just one dimension. And as a mathematically oriented person, I want to put forth other tools for those working with their ideas.

Versatile toolbox

To quote an oft quoted saying by Maslow, "if you have a hammer, everything will look like a nail". If you have a scale, you miss important things, such as understanding circles! And other closed shapes such as triangles. It hence helps to not be a one-tool wonder but rather build a stockpile of tools and get comfortable with them all.

The world is frankly FULL of tools that have been created ever since the stone age. Making tools and using it is what we do best as humans. It sets us apart from nearly all other species. What makes a person an expert is their knowledge of the tools of their trade and the ability to use the right tool for a given problem.

"A good tool improves the way you work. A great tool improves the way you think.” - Jeff Duntemann

Compass

Not the ones that sailors use, but the one in a geometry box lets you draw a circle. You measure any radius with a scale and the pencil attached traces a perfect circle. And circles are great because they reflect reality - that life is full of turns, we come back to the same place (more a spiral but the idea that progress is not a straight line) and there are things called going on a tangent, striking a chord and of course the endless joy of Pi.

It helps to remember that what goes around comes around and it is a small world. Building good relations and being giving are important and builds a great foundation for, well, you know what (scale).

And as different a circle seems from a straight line; we can look at circle as a series of very small pieces that are lines. Just as a straight line is a circle with a radius of infinity.

Go in circles around ideas, build a circle of support, be comfortable circling around ideas and also about not apparently going anywhere but still staying centered.

Protractor

No, it is not a supporter of tractors or the opposite of contractor, not even a tool against detractor (though when I think about it why not? entrepreneurs have too many detractors and can use a protractor!). It helps measure angles and draw lines in different angles.

You can already get the angles I am going with this one. Look at the problem from various viewpoints and get a 360-degree view on what is. Very often we are stuck with a few notions based on strong impressions we had. Running it by a few people and having an open mind helps us get a rounder perspective.

Yes, that makes the process protracted (oh now I am loving English!). But spending time in the foundation is good because we want to - say aloud with me - "Build for SCALE".

Divider

The tool was quite a mystery and more than that, very dangerous when I was in school. Whose idea is it to give two sharp tips edge to young children? Many a school table concurs with me as they have been poked endlessly, and terrible games invented.

Yes, it is a measurement tool to find out the length. Wait, can't you use a scale? Never mind that, but a divider is a great tool and if you doubt that, look no further than at the British Empire. For an entrepreneur, given any big problem, be a divider and a conqueror. Dividing issues helps create focus and makes it solvable.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step (or in consultant lingo for the Tao, divided into many repeatable workflow tasks)

Set squares

I never used these much either in geometry class and knew them only as 'triangles'. Honestly when the markings on my scale faded, I used these to measure. But they are great for not just measuring but also drawing angles. As you see, there are lots of overlap in the tools.

Triangles are cool and as closed figures with the least number of sides, they are a good tool when we are starting out. And while we loosely call all three-sided figures as triangles, there are many nuances. Right triangle and equilateral being cool and popular.

As you start to fit the pieces of the problem and solution, you are likely testing what 'closes'. If we call two sides as A and B, once you decide on them, you will realize there is no flexibility for the third side, except by changing the angle of A and/or B. For example, given target customers (A) and product features (B) price cannot be arbitrary.

Sharpener

You would be sharp enough to know the many uses of it and what happens if we don't use it at the right time. Or when we overdo, and the edge breaks off.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw - Stephen Covey (The seven habits of highly effective people)

Many founders have an edge and start out quite sharp. But due to lack of time and having to attend to too many things, do not keep up with what is happening. There is also no incentive to doubt the path one is on, in a constructive way, as a lot of energy is taken to 'defend' it.

Eraser

I am the kind of person who will take an eraser first and pencil second. Without eraser, we are too afraid to make mistakes. Ok, even with it, we are afraid, but you get the value of correcting and moving on.

New ideas and bold plans do not go as planned. They take a path of their own and we have to retrace many steps. We must be open to going back to the drawing board and rethinking from scratch. Erasing chalk or pencil is way faster and cheaper than putting too many good resources before there is 'real' evidence.

"Nobody is perfect. That's why pencils have erasers"

That said, don't forget about bad erasers, you know the ones that make it look worse than the original mistake. A blunder, rearranged says 'learning" (it doesn't, don't point it out to me please. My learning. You get the idea) and wiping it out willy nilly does a bit of disservice. And creating a mess trying to correct may tear the paper. Invest in good eraser and right technique to use them.

Cool tools

JFK said, "We must use time as a tool, not as a couch". Tools such as 'scale' must not be used to couch (again, I love English!) our inability to wield more suitable tools. But again, George Carlin says "language is a tool for concealing the truth".

“The best investment is in the tools of one's own trade.” – Benjamin Franklin “

Tools are not the problem, but we are. “A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” (Seneca, an amazing stoic Roman Statesman, who has said lots of awesome things, said this 2000 years ago and handed a good one to the assault weapon apologists). Use it wisely, nicely and precisely.