Lesson Number 2 from Marvin the Martian. Marvin was totally focussed on his goal. To meet his goal, he had at his disposal sophisticated equipment that relied on a simple and easily removed component.
The problem that Marvin was trying to solve? Marvin wanted to see Venus from Mars. The obstacle was that the Earth had blocked his view of Venus for 2 millennia. From Marvin’s perspective, the easiest route is to use the moon as a lauching pad and to blow the Earth to kingdom come. While it might make sense to a Martian, it certainly didn’t make sense to the rest of us, Bugs Bunny included.
In The Haredevil Hare, Marvin has built the ultimate technological device. The Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator was a complex device with a simple starting device (interestingly enough, a small stick of dynamite). He is totally focused on ensuring that the device was fired directly at the Earth. Bugs Bunny managed to derail his efforts. Because when Marvin wasn’t watching, Bugs was able to steal the firing mechanism. Marvin didn’t have a backup plan. At least, I wouldn’t have considered K-9 a backup plan. Bugs was able to convince the dog to give up the firing pin without a fight. In fact, Bugs was able to use the firing pin for an alternative purpose which had a rather catastrophic result. Most of the moon disappeared.
The golden nugget is “quality before execution. Success must be based on multiple elements.” In the case of Marvin Martian, the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator should have been built so that the firing mechanism was integrated into the device. If you think about all the projects that you have worked on, how many times have time and cost meant that quality of design and purpose was sacrificed?
Fortunately for Marvin, he didn’t have to carry liability insurance.
