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The Mindset of Physical Tangibility
Let me introduce a concept I call the "mindset of physical tangibility." If something isn’t physically tangible, we often undervalue or ignore it, no matter how critical or impactful it might be. This mindset explains why many still struggle to pay for software or cloud-based tools, even if they promise exponential gains in productivity, income, and quality of life.
During my 15+ years of working across product development, product management, program management, education technology and engineering consulting, I’ve seen this play out repeatedly. I’ve worked with startups, companies, educators, and engineering teams that had access to life-changing digital tools, sometimes even for free or at highly subsidised rates, yet remained reluctant or uninterested in adopting them.
The Case of Engineering Design Software
Let’s take engineering design as a case in point. I’ve consulted for firms that rely on cracked versions of design tools or free, insecure alternatives. The productivity loss is staggering. In one particular project, a team using cracked, outdated software was producing results at 25% of the speed and accuracy of a team using licensed, cloud-based solutions.
When we ran a side-by-side benchmark:
- Team A (using secure, licensed software) completed 5 critical design sprints in 3 weeks.
- Team B (using free, outdated tools) completed just 1 sprint in the same timeframe.
Beyond productivity, there were serious concerns about data security, legal exposure, and cross-collaboration bottlenecks. The irony? The cost of the software, when prorated across the value it generated, was less than the weekly cost of running diesel generators in the office.
About the Author:
Chukwubuikem Felix Amaefule is a digital manufacturing expert, product strategist, and EdTech leader with over 15 years of industry experience. He currently leads the transformational team at Generative CAD Services Limited, building scalable learning and product development solutions to democratise making in Africa.
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