Can Thinking Kill Ideas?

Sometimes we have to work hard for an idea, and at other times ideas can just come streaming into our consciousness. But once we have an idea, how do we turn it into something?

When you work for yourself, or you own a small business, the time between idea generation and implementation can be very small. You can think it, then do it. But when you are in a larger organisation there are many reasons that prohibit ideas being tested in your market … and you have probably experienced this before:

1. Your boss doesn’t like it
2. There isn’t budget for it
3. You don’t have the time
4. It is too big and you can’t get the help you need

There are plenty more.

BUT there is a more important question — have you actually asked anyone about your idea?

You see, it is easy to kill off an idea before it even gets to someone else. Many times WE (the person who plucked the idea from their imagination) actually stop an idea before it gets too big. WE are the ones who talk ourselves out of it … and then never get around to suggesting it to someone else. By talking ourselves out of it, the idea never gets to see the light of day.

Does this make it a bad idea? Of course not. It just means that we don’t have faith in the idea. We don’t have confidence in our ability to gather the resources, harness the team and build the idea into something worth showing others, talking about or selling. REALLY what you have done, is kill off your idea by THINKING!

Well if this sounds like YOU … take a look at this post by Seth Godin.

It is a great post because it refocuses the questions that you ask around idea generation and innovation … not why could it FAIL, but what would happen if it did FAIL? What is the worst case scenario?  (Then, of course, you could ask what if it was a crazy SUCCESS?)

Which ever way it turns out, you are going to create a GREAT story. You are going to LEARN. And next time you will do it better.

Is it still a risk? You bet! But what is the alternative?

Thanks again to Spell with Flickr!

S.