Borrow, Don't Build: A Framework for Faster Innovation

The fastest path to innovation isn’t invention — it’s translation. Most of the hard problems you face have already been solved, just in a different industry.

The Four Steps

First, state your problem abstractly — strip the industry-specific vocabulary. Second, search for industries with the same abstract problem. Third, study how they solved it and why that solution worked in their context. Fourth, translate the mechanics to your context, watching for where the constraints differ.

Why This Usually Fails

Most people skip step two. They stay in their own industry’s literature because it feels safer. But the best insights always come from an adjacent field where the problem has been attacked differently.