Contemplations
In 1981, sixteen-year-old Michael Dell, the future founder of Dell Computers, got a summer job selling newspaper subscriptions for The Houston Post. He was given random phone numbers to cold-call, which felt inefficient.
He realised that two groups almost always subscribed: newlyweds and new homeowners. This discovery led him to track down marriage license records at Houston’s county courthouses and mortgage application lists from data companies.
He targeted those most likely to subscribe with personalised letters. By summer’s end, he had a system that kept running even after school resumed, earning him $18,000.
I mentioned in my last post that true discovery lies in seeing what others have seen yet overlooked and making connections that others have missed. Dell was able to spot an opportunity hidden within an inefficiency.
Dell didn’t just accept the cold-calling strategy he was given—he questioned it at its core. Using First Principles Thinking, he stripped away assumptions and reframed the problem: the goal wasn’t to make calls; it was to sell subscriptions. That meant he needed a way to reach people who were most likely to subscribe.
By sourcing public records, he built a new system based on fundamental truths rather than inherited processes. This mindset—challenging conventional methods and rebuilding from the ground up—explains why Dell didn’t just succeed at selling newspapers but later disrupted the entire personal computer industry with Dell Computers.
Consumptions
📺 (TV Show)
The Residence– I really enjoyed this Netflix murder mystery TV show. It involves a Black female detective, Cordelia Cupp, investigating a murder in the White House—an intriguing concept.
Cupp, played brilliantly by Uzo Aduba, is a sharp and unconventional detective who refuses to be bogged down by assumptions. She’s paired with Edwin Park, an FBI agent who serves as her logical counterbalance, much like a Holmes and Watson duo.
The case focuses on the murder of the White House’s Chief Usher. There are several suspects, and everyone has a motive. Over eight episodes, Cupp sifts through lies, clues, and cover-ups to uncover the truth.
One of the show’s quirks is Cordelia’s love for birds—she uses bird analogies to make sense of the case. A standout moment for me was a conversation between Park and Cupp that sums up great detective work—and great user research:
Park: “Did Didier Gotthard kill A.B. Wynter?”
Cupp: “Maybe. We know he was in the Game Room, or we think we do. It looks compelling. But what else do we know? And is there something we don’t know that makes what we do know irrelevant? That’s what we need to find out. That is the context.”
That’s what I loved about The Residence—it’s not just about solving a case; it’s about questioning assumptions until the truth emerges.
