Seth Godin talks about the difference between trying to be better and trying to be different: Seth’s Blog: In search of better
I’ve puzzled over this one for a bit, and the trouble I have is that better is always better. Wheras different can sometimes be worse. But I guess that’s where the skill comes in.
As a challenge to thought processes it’s definitely interesting.
Client asks: “Can you make this better”?
Reply: “No, but we can make it different…”
I’ll have to give it a try ;-)
Must be a bit of a slow day for Seth…
“When you make something that works a little better, you’re playing the same game, just keeping up with the status quo. ”
Who says?
For a customer, if ‘different’ solves the problem more efficiently or acheives an aim more effectively, then it is ‘better’.
That’s how I first read the piece too. But then when I thought about it a little more I started to like the sentiment.
As an example if you were tasked with making something better. Your natural start point would be the old thing, then build on it. If your task was to do something different you’d end up somewhere else.
But I agree, somtimes different is better, sometimes it’s not. But better is alway (by it’s very nature), better. ;-)