Blue Dots Partners

In his wonderful book “Seven brief lessons on physics”, Carlo Rovelli details the relationship between time and heat. He explains:

“The difference between past and future exists only when there is heat. The fundamental phenomenon that distinguishes the future from the past is the fact that heat passes from things that are hotter to things that are colder.”

How can heat and time be related so closely? This seems counter-intuitive. The relationship between both was established by two physicists: James Maxell and Ludwig Boltzmann. Molecules are never still. They vibrate, they collide with each other, they bounce. Maxell and Boltzmann understood that heat was caused by molecules that move faster and as they collide with molecules that don’t move as much, they transfer energy to them and contribute to “heating” them. Statistically molecules that move the most (the fastest) have a higher probability to collide with the ones that move the least. This is all about probabilities. This is why heat moves from hot to cold. Now, what has this to do with time? The key concept is that if heat is not exchanged, nothing changes. In other words, the past and the future are the same. When heat is exchanged, the future becomes different from the past and the notions of time and irreversibility can take place.

As heat moves from hot to cold, I believe a similar movement is happening now in consumer commerce: it is moving from brands to consumers. I call it the “Reverse Movement” where product offerings, easiness and convenience are brought and delivered to the consumer, not the opposite. Here are a few examples:

• When you buy a product in an Apple store, you don’t have to grab the product, find the cash register, stay patiently in line and then pay. The Apple store associates gets the product for you and the cash register “comes” to you. They process your credit card transaction where you stand and then you simply walk out the store with your newly acquired iPhone or latest Apple watch. Your receipt is emailed to the address you give them.
• With Uber, the car comes to you wherever you are. You don’t have to walk one or two blocks in New York in the cold and soggy snow in the hope that when you raise your hand, a yellow cab will pull over to get you to your destination. It is no longer about car ownership, but rather about easy, convenient and ubiquitous access.
• Instacart now offers same-day delivery for your grocery shopping for thousands of products. Fresh avocados, eggs and milk from Whole Foods are delivered to your front door.
• Many trees are now saved because there is no need any more for paper airline tickets or boarding passes. Flying to Detroit? No problem. You book it online and your boarding pass magically appears on your smart phone in a 2-D scan code. In the old days, you had to go to a travel agency or the airport to get your ticket printed and then wait a long time in line at the airport to get your boarding pass printed. Thankfully, those days are long gone.
• It is not hard to imagine tele-medicine where a doctor visit will be fully conducted via a video call and a simple device you carry with you, in the comfort of your home, will measure some vital signals that the doctor can access and interpret in real time.
• Buying a new Android phone? No need to go somewhere anymore. Companies like Enjoy will bring your phone to you, process the credit card and even set it up for you to make sure everything is all right and your pictures on your old phone are transferred to the new one.
• Looking for a financial advisor? Fisher Investment will come to your place to meet and then all the on-boarding process is done by phone, email and on the web.
• com offers dog sitting where the person will come and pick up your dog and pet sit her for a few days and then bring her back to your home when you are back from a tiring trip to the Bahamas!
• BabyQuip delivers a crib or stroller to your hotel or the airport when you travel. They will rent you safe, clean and good quality baby equipment. This will save you a lot of hassle when you travel with your baby or children. They will pick it up when you are ready to leave. They will dismantle the crib, take it away and clean it for the next family.
• Not time to fill up your car with gas? Not a problem, Booster will do it while you work. Their slogan is “You park. We pump.” They also will clean your windows, check your tire pressure and replace your wiper blades if necessary.

All these examples are showing how many companies are focused on the A3 alignment to vastly improve delivery of products and services. This is profound and the beginning of what I call the “Reverse Movement”, where the customer is truly put in the center and goods and services are coming to consumers, not the opposite.