Managers use the tools they’re given. Entrepreneurs invent new tools.
That’s why Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan just pledged $3 billion to build new tools that will transform disease prevention in the next decade.
New tools have always preceded major change: Like the invention of the internal combustion engine, and the creation of the Internet. Major scientific breakthroughs took place after we invented the telescope and microscope.
And the fastest growing companies of the last decade – from Google to Facebook to Apple – grew rapidly after giving us new tools to work, play and connect with.
Are you managing with existing tools, or are you creating new tools?
Mark Zuckerberg said today:
“Throughout the history of science, most of the major scientific breakthroughs have been preceded by some new tool and technology that allows you to see in new ways.”
“The telescope helped us understand astronomy and the universe, the microscope helped us understand cells and bacteria to help us develop treatments for infectious diseases, while DNA sequencing and editing helps us fight cancer and genetic disorders.”
With the right tools: “Can we cure all diseases in our children’s lifetime?”
In pledging $3 billion today to build the right tools to help cure all disease, Mark says “Today, most people die from four kinds of diseases:
> heart disease (10.8 million, 19.2%)
> cancer (8.2 million, 14.6%)
> infectious disease (8.5 million, 15.1%)
> and neurological disease like stroke (6.8 million, 12.1%)”
“It’s easy to imagine modern tools that could unlock progress in each of the four major disease categories today: AI software to interpret brain imaging or datasets of cancer genomes, a chip to diagnose any infectious disease, continuous bloodstream monitoring to identify diseases early, and maps of all the different cell types and states to help design drugs to combat any given disease.”
“Tool development often requires groups of scientists and engineers working together over long periods of time. For example, the internal combustion engine was developed by scientists and engineers over decades. Eventually, this tool unlocked many inventions, including cars and aircraft. But it took a big investment, large scale collaboration and a long time horizon.”
“But the current structure of scientific grants does not encourage big scientific efforts with world-class engineers teams, like the ones you’d find at great technology companies. This is required for developing many modern tools, so this will be our focus.”
“That brings us to our plan. We’re going to focus on bringing scientists and engineers together to build new tools that can empower the whole scientific community to make breakthroughs on the four major disease categories.”
Think about that… A 32 year old software engineer and his 31 year old wife have both just pledged $3 billion of their own money to fund a plan to cure all disease.
Whether you think they will succeed or not, the point is they’re doing it.
And they’re doing it by focusing at building new tools, in the same way Facebook built the tools for me to post this post and you to read it – from anywhere in the world a moment after I posted it.
Whatever big problem you’re trying to solve, don’t focus at solving it with old tools. Focus at creating new tools which enable new solutions.
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” ~ Albert Einstein