by Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds:
The momentum of franchise success and centralization of power are fatal.
Loonshots are like moonshots, only crazier and trickier to commercialize. Author Safi Bahcall titled his book on how to nurture change-the-world innovations Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries.
But as Bahcall persuasively argues, loonshot innovations aren’t enough. You also need to nurture franchises that commercialize the innovations into products and services that pay the bills and fund the search for loonshot.