The concept of Thinking Differently proves to be flawed advice

Imagine this: being different is not the key to success. Crazy, right? We often hear about how Apple and Google became super successful because they thought outside the box. But did you know that a lot of their different ideas flopped? Like, remember the Segway or Google Glass? Yeah, not all different ideas are winners.

Apple and Google didn't even come up with the first smartphone or search engine. They were followers in those areas. And get this - almost half of the companies that try to be the first in a market end up failing. So maybe being different isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Back in the 1800s, people were getting around by horse and buggy. But as cities grew, this method became slow, expensive, and dangerous. Can you imagine dodging horse poop on your way to school? Gross. Then along came gasoline-powered cars. They could go faster, and farther, and didn't leave a trail of manure behind. So maybe success isn't about being different, but about finding a better solution to a problem.

Back in the day, people were used to getting around on horses or donkeys. It was the norm for thousands of years. But then along came cars, and it was a big change. Cars needed a different kind of fuel, different skills to drive, and different knowledge to fix.

At first, people were shocked to see carriages moving without horses in front. Some folks in the countryside even thought cars were a sign of city decadence and tried to stop them from coming around. Horses were scared of these noisy, horseless carriages and would sometimes run off with their passengers.

In 1899, a guy named Uriah Smith came up with a funny idea to help horses and people feel more comfortable around cars. He created the Horsey Horseless, which was a car with a fake horse head attached to the front. This way, the car looked more like a horse-drawn carriage, and horses wouldn't be as scared.

It might seem silly now to think about a fake horse head on a car, but back then, cars were so new and strange that people needed something familiar to help them get used to the change. Instead of focusing on what made cars different, Smith made them seem more like something people were already used to.

Smith has some company in the yogurt world. Chobani has become a big player in the market. When they first started, Greek Yogurt was only a tiny part of the yogurt scene, less than one-quarter of one percent. But now, Greek yogurt makes up more than half of all yogurt sales. And Chobani claims a big chunk of that success.

You might think Chobani did something different to stand out, but that's not quite true. They weren't even the first ones to sell Greek Yogurt in the U.S. Fage had been doing it for almost ten years before Chobani came along. Chobani didn't reinvent the wheel, they just gave people what they wanted. In Greece, yogurt was plain and came in big containers. But in America, people liked their yogurt with fruit already mixed in. So that's what Chobani offered. They made an old favorite healthier and more convenient.

It turns out, being a little different is good, but being too different can be a turn-off. Successful things find the right balance between old and new. The Toyota Prius didn't go fully electric, it just made gas cars more efficient. Hit songs mix familiar tunes with new lyrics. And groundbreaking research builds on what's been done before, with a few new twists.

So, successful stuff is like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks didn't like things that were too extreme. The hard bed was too hard, the soft bed too soft. The hot porridge was too hot, the cold porridge too cold. But the middle ground was just right.

Sometimes when something new comes out, it can be a little tricky for people to figure out if they want it or not. Take the Apple Newton, for example. Back in the day, it was like the great-great-grandparent of the iPhone. But people were scratching their heads trying to figure out why they needed it or how it would fit into their lives. The same goes for the Segway - it was supposed to change the game when it came to personal transportation, but it was so different that people didn't know what to do with it.

On the flip side, if something new is too much like what's already out there, then why bother switching? If this year's video game is just a copy of last year's, why spend the money? And if a different brand's product does the same thing for the same price, why make the switch?

The key is finding that sweet spot in the middle. Something that feels familiar but also fresh and exciting. This balance is super important when it comes to coming up with new stuff, like the Swiffer. Is it a brand-new way to mop, or just a fancy mop? And when it comes to new ideas, should they be totally out of left field, or a natural next step from what's already happening? It's all about finding that perfect mix of old and new.

Imagine introducing a brand-new invention that changes the way we watch TV. That's what TiVo did when they came out with the digital video recorder. It was a big deal, just like when cars were first invented. But the challenge was getting people to understand and use this new technology.

To make it easier for people to get used to the idea of a DVR, TiVo made their device look like a VCR. Even though the insides were different, the outside looked familiar. It was a black rectangle that sat near the TV, just like a VCR or DVD player.

They could have made the DVR look like anything they wanted, but making it look like something people were already used to, it helped them accept this new way of watching TV. This is called making the differences seem more similar.

Today, we see this idea in lots of things we use. Like how we click on a floppy disk to save files or drag digital files to a trash can icon. Even digital cameras were made to look like old film cameras. It's all about making new things feel familiar.

Being different isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes, it can be really good! Take the iMac for example. When Apple introduced it in 1998, it didn't have a ton of new technology. But it looked different from any other computer out there. Instead of being a boring black or grey box, it was shaped like a gumdrop and came in fun colors like tangerine and strawberry. This unique design made the iMac stand out and become super popular.

When something is just a little bit different from what we're used to, it can make us more likely to try it out. But if something is too different, it can be confusing and scary. On the other hand, if something is too similar to what we already know, it can be boring and old news. The key is finding that perfect balance - not too different, not too similar. Just right. Just like Goldilocks finding the perfect bowl of porridge.