Where are you on the technology adoption life cycle? When a new thing comes along are you first on the bandwagon or do you wait and see or even never adopt?

Pioneers like Geoffrey Moore in his Crossing the Chasm book classify a number of profiles occupying their own place in the distribution of technology adoption: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Innovators are the geeks who will experiment with something even before it’s been finished. Early adopters are just that. Then you’ve got the 2 giants of the bell curve, the early majority and the late majority, finally, you have the laggards, late to technology if they use it at all.

Think of something like an iPod, iPad, 3D printer or driverless car. You may not know any innovators – under the terms of this definition – but you probably remember who was the first person on the street, in the estate, in school or in the office who had one. Maybe you were that person. As the old adage goes: ‘how do you know when someone’s got an [insert new gadget]?’ ‘Because they tell you.’

Once you’ve found out where you are on the tech curve, you can understand that place for what it is. Then you don’t get the hang-ups or envy when someone has something new. Your time will come, when you’re ready.