Fisher literally discovered the Century 21 concept, since he found the real estate + franchise combination among other random combinations of businesses and business types. He set out to look for a great concept, and he found one using a combinatorial method. Now he sells software -- The Idea Fisher, he calls it -- that puts together new combinations automatically, instead of with the laboriously-hand-written lists he used when he discovered the real estate franchise concept. Fisher says he doesn't need the money; he sells his software to promote economic growth.

My student works in computer science, and in our brief telephone conversation, I didn't quite capture the significance of his discovery. Still, one of the leading professors in his field saw it immediately, though, and is anxious to develop the concept. My student is delighted -- perhaps as delighted as Marsh Fisher was when he saw the Century 21 concept and realized he had just discovered the key to a large fortune. Given the rapid evolution in computer science applications, my student may also have found the seed to another large fortune. If so, Marsh Fisher would probably be delighted again that his story had contributed to humanity's advancement -- even if he didn't sell a copy of his program.

Fisher's story could contribute to Mexico's wealth on a much bigger scale, alleviating the capital shortage that makes so many Mexicans go to the United States to seek gainful employment. Fisher's story illustrates how to climb an adaptation curve. New combinations of known technologies make long jumps on the economic fitness landscape, and can find available technology combinations that no one else has considered. Looking over the fitness landscape around that new combination can make its advantages over known products, process, or services instantly obvious, if there are any. Kauffman's Law -- the chain reaction driving technology growth -- means that Mexican entrepreneurs have countless opportunities to succeed by finding useful new technology combinations that can displace the older, less fit combinations now in use.

In fact, the growing number of interesting technology combinations means that many more Mexicans will want to shut down or transform existing businesses to start up new businesses. With great new business opportunities available, good entrepreneurs won't want to devote their time to tending a marginal business any more than a good employee would want to stay in a marginal job when a better one is available. (Mexico's government makes this a problem, though, since formally shutting down an old business in Mexico takes even more effort than formally starting up a new business. I'll explore that theme in later column.) Teaching more Mexicans about adaptation curves and combinatorial technologies could lead to a lot more new ideas like my student's, and a lot more new businesses.

The best way to teach adaptation curves is to live adaptation curves. In addition to the Marsh Fisher story, I told my student about other new combinations I had found and liked, such as the adaptation curve term itself. That is a new term created by analogy: climbing a local fitness landscape peak is to a long fitness landscape jump as the engineering term "learning curve" is to the engineering term "blank." Adaptation curve fills in the blank. Employees are to innovators as Employee Stock Ownership Programs (ESOPs) are to "blank." Innovator Stock Ownership Programs (ISOPs) not only fill in that blank, but help create adaptive corporations (which are to static and dynamic corporations as adaptive equations are to static and dynamic equations). He began to see that exciting new ideas are everywhere, once you know how to look for them.

My student now faces the consequences, though. Having found one great new idea already with the combinatorial method, he's opened the floodgates and will have to deal with having more great new ideas than he can possibly implement. I'm sure that will be good for Mexico, though, since more Mexicans will learn adaptation curves by living them with him. Remember, ideas are capital, and the way Mexico will alleviate its capital shortage and bring expatriate Mexicans back here to work is by implementing lots of really great ideas for new products, services, and processes. Open your floodgates.

Readers with questions or comments for Dr. White can call 011(525)595-6045, fax 011(525)683-5874, or email white@profmexis.sar.net

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