Which Constraints Matter Most?

Constraints come in many flavors. I generally categorize them into physical, legal, cultural or mental:

• Physical: Limitations like safe room occupancy, or the speed an aircraft needs to reach to take off.
• Legal: Corporate copyrights last 95 years after the author's death.
• Cultural: We frown on brazen lying and insulting.
• Mental: There's no way someone would let a stranger drive them around town!

As you can see, some of these constraints have already given way.

You might also have noticed that many constraints that seem to belong in other categories are actually Mental. Back around 1900, most folks were certain that flying in aircraft was a pipe dream. We thought there were physical limitations, but smart people like the Wright Brothers experimented their way to flight. Our Physical constraints were provably wrong. But until the proof showed up, most of us were hard to convince.

That's part of the fun of messing with constraints: The doubters and skeptics often create market dynamics you can benefit from.