Sometimes being first with the right idea can look the same as having the best idea.
When Spotify first released the soundtrack to Hamilton the musical, it was difficult to find. It didn’t come up if you searched “Hamilton”. You had to search for an artist, click through two or three things, and arrive at the album. So I made a playlist titled “Hamilton Soundtrack” and dropped all the songs in.
It was the right idea, but not unpredictable. However, because I was apparently the first to do this, I found that I soon had a couple of subscribers to my playlist. And then a few more. The momentum grew and my early start became a big “lead.” There are now close to 100 subscribers to this silly playlist. All because I got there first. Now the top result when you search “Hamilton Soundtrack” is my playlist.
It wasn’t such a brilliant idea – it was a good idea and by chance I implemented before anyone else. Often, Good + Early = Success. And maybe we should worry less about turning good into great and more about turning punctual into early.