Fascinating insights captured by Shel in conversations with people associated with Tim Berners-Lee, the architect of the World Wide Web (www).

For me, this was the big takeaway. It reinforced two points that keep coming up in everything I’m doing:

1. There is no marketing force as powerful than the natural force of word of mouth. There is no corporate program that can does the shoes of credibility of the natural peer-to-peer enthusiasm that propels word of mouth to be fruitful and multiply.
2. Vision is rarely the builder of great things. I’ve been working with entrepreneurs since 1979. Most fabled success stories begin with: We put this together because we thought it would be cool and we wanted to share it with friends.” What appeals to you and your friends just might appeal to a great many people.

Source: Global Neighbourhoods: Lessons from SLAC

The interesting observation is the second.  The first is obvious, and everyone gets that.  The second is a more business oriented point, and less obvious yet very real.  When I reflect over my Banking experiences, the one thing that always sticks out is the fact that the vision discussions are never implemented.  The reality is smaller ideas that actually drive clear focus and the all important affordability.