Why you shouldn't copy us or anyone else

We hate copying and everything we have built in the past we developed/desgined it from scratch, and that is exactly why we lead in the NetSuite eCommerce business and companies that copy will always follow.

Here’s the problem with copying: Copying skips understanding. Understanding is how you grow. You have to understand why something works or why something is how it is. When you copy it, you miss that. You just repurpose the last layer instead of understanding all the layers underneath.

Have you seen a NetSuite app that was obviously copied from what we have built in the past? The copy usually lacks depth and detail. They miss the spacing, the proportions, the relationship between colors and objects and buttons and links. It’s usually pretty close, but there’s something not right about it.

Why? Shouldn’t copying something be easier than creating it? Someone else already did the work, right? The problem is that the work on the original is invisible. The copier doesn’t know why it looks the way it looks or feels the way it feels or reads the way it reads. The copied interface is a faux finish.

This is why future iterations of a copied script or solution begin to break down quickly. The copiers don’t understand where to take it next because they don’t understand the original intention. They don’t know the original moves so they don’t understand the next move.

Look around at eCommerce designs that were clearly copied from someone else’s store and you’ll find a lot of inconsistencies and sore thumbs. That’s the new stuff.

I think copying leads to a lack of understanding as well. Be influenced by many, copy none.

So bottom line: Copying hurts you. You miss out on what makes something good. Instead, try to be exposed to a variety of perspectives and points of view. Take whatever you find useful and leave the rest behind. Fill in the gaps with your own ideas. In the end you have make your own way forward.

Again. Stop following. If you don’t know the original move you don’t understand the next move, and that's why you will never lead.

Michael Jordan's induction speech

A great speech by MJ. One of the quotes I really like from Michael Jordan,

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

Enjoy the Video...