Now basically, I hate traveling, airplanes and conferences, but I know that you have to get out of your bubble and do the work. Zoom can only take you so far. Get on the airplane.
Choudhury showed that nonstop flights in the same time zone were not that valuable. It matters more “if the two firms’ locations are culturally or temporally far away from each other,” he writes. New patent applications increased 3.4 percent when nonstop flights increased by 10 percent. Also, benefits decrease if you have to change planes, he says.
I share this little story with you because it reinforces the mantra that new data can lead to actionable insights. For example, a smart city might consider this whole innovation puzzle in thinking about which nonstops should be added at their airport.On the last night of the conference, the dinner was a toss-up. Four different possible venues, no assigned seating, take your chances. We sat toward the back — makes it easier to escape quickly — and the guy next to me was the magic act.
My reason for bringing this up is to reinforce the idea of mentorship. Barbara Bry and I recently started a little software company, my eighth time as a co-founder, and I assumed that there was very little I could learn from an incubator. After all, they are designed for newbies and first-timers and young people. I am none of those.