Change the world vs. Fix the world

I had an interesting conversation over the weekend that got me thinking about two different types of people. Some want to fundamentally change the world and others want to fix the world.

Some people want to create products and companies that enter the world and destroy current value chains disrupting the current flow and create a better way. To me these are the world changers because they want to do things differently, stir things up, and turn processes over to make them better. They are not adding a product or service on top of something that exists today, they are creating something new.

Other people look at a current value chain, company dynamic, or enterprise system and want to bring efficiency, change, and speed where it does not currently exist. To me these are the world fixers because while nothing is really changing, they are bringing a valuable (and arguably more monetizable) business into the world. They bring processes and solutions to the world changers creations – an important part of the ecosystem.

While the nuances are very different, I do not want to get lost in the details of how and why these types of people are similar.

Both involve a very specific plan and goal, and strong narrative about why they will be successful. Both also require two different types of investments theses. One is theoretically more early stage and perhaps higher risk, while the other is perhaps more later stage and while just as risky, a different set of economic fundamentals and principals are involved with each.

So which are you?