Just-Enough

Grant McCracken has published more thinking on his ‘just-enough’ theory on his site ‘This Blog Sits At’. He says that there is a new consumer aesthetic struggling to be born – that some consumers, even very rich ones, now want just enough:

Just enough is audible even in the start-up world of small business. Old entrepreneurs used to talk about scaling up till they could sell out. We wanted to get as big as possible to sell for as much as possible. New entrepreneurs talk about getting big enough to “get comfortable.” And the idea is not to sell out but to sit tight. A small winery, small software company, small consultancy, that’s fine. That’s just enough. In the case of Hollywood, everyone used to want to be Steven Spielberg. Now some of them, Fey included, what to be Christopher Guest. “Just live your life, make hilarious movies with your friends, and then go home.”

…What are the motives and motors of “just enough?”

…In the case of an entrepreneur, “just enough” is about control. Staying small(ish), staying private, supplying your own capital, all these mean calling your own shots. Venture capitalists and Wall Street can drive someone else crazy. The just enough entrepreneur can take his or her own chances. When it comes time to choose between interesting and profitable, you can go with interesting. Just enough in this case is about control.

Grant’s video from the PSFK Conference will be available soon at http://psfktv.blip.tv

This Blog Sits at the: Just-enough, a new trend in the works