The 10-Minute Airport Conversation That Generated HP Billions
How a casual exchange at San Jose Airport became HP's gaming empire—and why most executives miss these moments entirely
I almost didn't talk to him.
It was 2005, gate area at San Jose Airport, and I was heading to San Diego with three other HP executives to visit a defense contractor. Standard business trip. The kind where you exchange pleasantries, maybe talk about quarterly numbers, then bury yourself in email until boarding.
But something made me ask the HP engineer traveling with us about his side project.
Not his official work. His side project.
After some gentle prodding, he described a PC he'd been building with "off the charts performance." He'd been sneaking parts from the parts bin, sneaking motherboard customizations into production runs, conducting unauthorized R&D on his own time.
That ten-minute conversation became the catalyst for HP's gaming business unit, the acquisition of VooDoo PC, and ultimately HP's rise to number one gaming PC market share—a position it has held for years. Billions in revenue trace back to that exchange.
Here's what still haunts me: three other HP executives heard the exact same conversation. They processed the same information. Yet none of them saw what I saw.
The difference wasn't intelligence, experience, or access to information. It was what I now call "thinking resolution"—and it's the hidden factor that separates consistent innovators from everyone else.
The Moment Everything Changed
Picture this: we're sitting in uncomfortable airport chairs, killing time before our flight. The engineer mentions he's been working on something after hours. Most people would have nodded politely and moved on.
Instead, I started asking questions.
What I heard wasn't just "engineer built fast PC." While my colleagues processed that surface-level information, I was simultaneously tracking multiple layers:
- The Surface: HP engineer built a high-performance PC
- The Pattern: Someone was willing to risk their position to build something our official roadmap wasn't addressing
- The Signal: Our upcoming defense contractor visit would reveal performance vectors we weren't serving in consumer markets
- The Context: This "stealth project" suggested broader market demand we were completely missing
The defense contractor piece was crucial. We were about to see what real performance requirements looked like—networking speed, cooling systems, raw computational power that made consumer PCs look like toys. But here was our own engineer, on his own time, trying to bridge that gap.
Most executives would have seen a policy violation. I saw a market signal.
Why Three Smart People Missed It
The other executives on that trip weren't stupid. They were experienced, successful leaders. But they were processing information like standard-definition television while I was operating with 4K mental clarity.
They saw: "Fast PC = maybe gaming opportunity" I saw: Multiple pattern vectors converging—computing power trajectory hitting gaming demand trajectory, defense-grade performance concepts moving toward consumer markets, enthusiast communities forming through internet connections.
They thought: "Let's build gaming PCs" I processed: Acquire existing excellence rather than build from scratch, preserve innovation culture while scaling distribution, create gaming ecosystem not just products.
The difference was multi-scale processing. They were analyzing at one level—tactical product development. I was simultaneously processing individual innovation (our engineer's stealth project), market gaps (performance enthusiasts), and industry transformation (where computing and entertainment were heading).
The Method Behind the Insight
What happened in that airport wasn't magic. It was the result of systematically training myself to see what others miss through what I call high-resolution thinking.
Multi-Layer Observation became automatic. Instead of accepting the first explanation, I'd trained myself to examine every situation through four lenses:
- Surface: What everyone sees
- Pattern: What connects and repeats
- Signal: What's emerging or changing
- Context: What's missing or assumed
Signal vs. Noise Discrimination let me identify what actually mattered. "Stealth project" was high signal—it indicated unmet market demand worth risking a career for. The specific technical details were medium signal. His official job duties were noise.
Edge Case Hunting revealed the opportunity. Most companies focus on serving mainstream customers better. But edge cases—like gaming enthusiasts building their own high-performance rigs—often signal where mainstream markets are heading.
The gaming community wasn't an edge case to ignore. They were leading indicators of massive market transformation.
Phil McKinney
From Insight to Empire
But seeing the opportunity was only half the battle. Getting HP to act on it required what I call "insight compression"—distilling complex observations into forms that bypass cognitive resistance.
I didn't present a 47-slide analysis of gaming market trends. Instead, I compressed the insight into something that connected with existing beliefs: "Our own engineers are willing to risk their jobs to build what the market wants."
That cognitive hook exploited HP's pride in engineering excellence. The proof was minimal but compelling—internal validation of market demand. The action trigger was acquiring VooDoo PC, the originators of purpose-built gaming computers, rather than building capability from scratch.
The acquisition led to HP's Blackbird, which earned PC Gamer's highest score ever awarded, a 9.3 from CNET, and multiple Editor's Choice awards. More importantly, it established HP's OMEN line—which still carries VooDoo's original DNA today.
The Pattern That Changes Everything
Twenty years later, I've watched this same dynamic play out repeatedly. The difference between companies that capture breakthrough opportunities and those that miss them isn't access to information—it's processing resolution.
Netflix saw how internet bandwidth, content consumption habits, and distribution costs would converge while Blockbuster processed the same signals as "people still want to rent movies."
Tesla recognized how battery technology, environmental consciousness, and performance expectations would intersect while traditional automakers saw electric vehicles as "compliance projects."
Instagram understood that digital photography wasn't about replacing film—it was about transforming social connection through visual storytelling. Meanwhile, Kodak, who invented the first digital camera, processed digital photography as a threat to their film business.
The pattern repeats: breakthrough innovators process multiple layers of information simultaneously while others get stuck examining only the surface.
The High-Resolution Thinking Framework
Here's what I've learned from that airport conversation and two decades of Fortune 100 innovation decisions: there's a systematic methodology behind these insights. It's not magic, intuition, or luck—it's a learnable three-stage framework that I call high-resolution thinking.
Stage 1: Capture - How to see what others miss through multi-layer observation, signal vs. noise discrimination, and edge case hunting. Most people scan conversations for confirmation of what they already believe. This stage trains you to examine them for signals of what's changing.
Stage 2: Process - How to understand connections across scales and time horizons using multi-resolution systems analysis, vector pattern recognition, and interference pattern analysis. While others see static trends, you'll process patterns with direction, velocity, and momentum to predict convergence points.
Stage 3: Compress - How to distill complex insights into forms that bypass cognitive resistance and drive immediate action. This is where most brilliant observations die—in PowerPoint presentations that trigger resistance instead of recognition.
Each stage contains three specific methods, giving you nine systematic techniques for turning casual conversations into breakthrough opportunities. The methodology is designed to work together—capture without processing leads to information overload, processing without compression results in insights that never drive action.
The complete framework with all nine methods, detailed practice exercises, and common mistake prevention is what I will share in this Wed's YouTube deep-dive on high-resolution thinking. It's designed as a comprehensive step-by-step process you can master over time, not just conceptual knowledge.
But first, let me show you why mastering this framework has become absolutely critical.
What You're Missing Right Now
Here's what I learned from that airport conversation and thousands since: the opportunities that will define your next decade are hiding in plain sight. They're in casual conversations with colleagues, customer complaints that seem like edge cases, and "stealth projects" happening in your own organization.
But you'll only see them if you're processing information with sufficient resolution.
The cost of continuing to miss these signals is staggering. While you're processing conversations at surface level, your competitors might be developing the pattern recognition that identifies the next billion-dollar market transformation. While you're dismissing edge cases as exceptions, advanced thinkers are studying them as previews of new rules forming.
Every day you operate without high-resolution thinking capabilities, you're essentially flying blind through a landscape filled with breakthrough opportunities.
Most people scan conversations for confirmation of what they already believe. High-resolution thinkers examine them for signals of what's changing. Most people dismiss edge cases as exceptions. Advanced thinkers study them as previews of new rules forming.
The next time someone mentions a side project, an after-hours experiment, or something they're "not supposed to be working on," pause. Ask follow-up questions. Apply multi-layer observation.
Ask yourself:
- What is this person willing to risk their position to pursue?
- What does this suggest about unmet demand in our market?
- How might this connect to larger forces reshaping our industry?
- What would it mean if this pattern is repeating elsewhere?
The Compound Effect
That airport conversation didn't just create HP's gaming business. It fundamentally changed how I process information in every situation. Once you start seeing in high resolution, you can't unsee. You notice patterns others miss. You spot opportunities before they become obvious to competitors.
You develop what I call "innovation intuition"—the ability to sense breakthrough opportunities before they're fully formed.
More importantly, people notice. When someone consistently makes better calls and identifies opportunities others miss, they become the go-to person for complex decisions. Organizations start routing difficult problems through high-resolution thinkers because they've learned to trust the results.
The methodology becomes your competitive advantage.
Your Next Conversation
Tomorrow, you'll have conversations with colleagues, customers, partners. Some of those exchanges contain the seeds of your next breakthrough opportunity. The question isn't whether the signals are there—they always are.
The question is whether you're processing them with sufficient resolution to see what others miss.
That HP engineer wasn't trying to start a revolution. He was just frustrated enough with existing options to risk building something better. Our conversation turned his unauthorized innovation into a billion-dollar business unit because someone was finally listening with the right level of attention.
What unauthorized innovations are happening around you right now? What stealth projects are your own people pursuing? What edge cases are signaling where your entire industry is heading?
The signals are there. The opportunities are waiting.
The only question is: are you thinking in high enough resolution to see them?
If you want to practice this systematically, I've created what I call "The HP Method"—a specific framework and exercises for training your eye to spot these opportunities. You can find the complete practice framework in my YouTube deep-dive on high-resolution thinking.
Phil McKinney
