A colleague recently introduced me to a fascinating concept from the world of project management. It can be encapsulated through an eccentric analogy coined by Fred Brooks:
It takes a woman nine months to make a baby, but you can’t expect nine women to make a baby in a month.
Some projects have components that can be completed in parallel, while others necessitate that most steps be completed in series. Adding extra labour or resources won’t necessarily expedite the process. In scenarios like these, time is an irreplaceable asset. It’s also something we can gift to our future selves, or future versions of our society. The best part is that it can be freely obtained and shared by any group with the ability to look ahead.
A compelling demonstration of the power of this principle over extensive periods can be found in London’s Kew Gardens. Kew’s grounds host fully-grown trees of all kinds, some of which were planted hundreds of years ago by people who cared enough to start a process they’d never see finished. These magnificent specimens are one of the things that set Kew apart. The result is a collection that couldn’t be replicated with all the wealth in the world.
When projects require decades or more to be realized as a product of fixed time requirements, they can only be brought to fruition when one generation exhibits generosity toward those that will succeed them. The upfront capital investment may not need to be large. What matters most in these situations is vision, and above all, proactivity.
Imagine what our generation could achieve for the future if we consistently employed this type of foresight.
What types of endeavours might benefit most from a head start?
How fast can we get the clock running on those items?
Here are some categories we might consider:
- Measuring long-term health impacts of various lifestyle choices.
- Collecting data from sources that may be at risk of destruction or contamination.
- Generating quality data for training artificial intelligence.
- Experimenting with innovative forms of education.
- Investing in zero-carbon energy technologies.
- Constructing intercontinental transportation infrastructure.
- Improving plastic waste management and reduction strategies.
- Preserving biodiversity and cataloguing endangered genomes.
- Designing growing cities for resilience and efficient transportation.
- Testing novel approaches to vaccine development.
- Establishing AI ethics guidelines.
- Restoring coral reefs, mangroves, and rainforests.
- Protecting old-growth trees
- Trialling universal basic income.
- Capturing carbon on a globally significant scale.
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