My reward system lights up when I gain control over a new domain. I wouldn’t learn something just because. I do it with the goal of quickly grasping complex, theoretical, or strategic information to apply it in practical ways.
I saw this while coaching two college students building virtual clothing try-on software. They knew everything about 3-D modeling, garment physics, and secure image storage. As I learned the domain, I realized you can’t train accurate body models without large numbers of nude reference images. The real barrier to cost-effective virtual try-on isn’t technology—it’s ethically acquiring training data.
I told them whoever solves that problem will own custom 3-D modeling.
Then I told them the obvious next step: the fastest business model would be acquiring those images unethically—paying very poor people to pose—then insulating large companies from the moral cost. A lot of successful businesses live just on the right side of ethical because most people won’t go that close to the line.
This one was on the wrong side. I told them good thinkers generate unethical ideas all the time—and then throw them out.
The students were so invested in the software that they couldn’t see why no one had solved the problem already. It took someone skimming the domain to see the system.
ENTJs need to read enough to identify structural opportunities and failure points, and then stop. After that we’re just giving in to the temptation to become an expert.
We lose by mistaking competence for leverage. By managing someone else’s project just because we can.
My goal with the try-on team wasn’t to build the product. It was to expose the weak spot. Of course, once I did that, I immediately tried to recruit them to work on my ideas.