What a Great Idea!
Moving technology and people forward can be a daunting task. When a great idea comes along, you want to capitalize on it. With a measured approach and a plan of attack, it can be managed well. Project management processes can assist as you break down larger initiatives into measurable tasks and milestones. Efforts of staff, users, managers, and others should not be random, but rather focused on success as everyone moves in the same direction with the same set of goals. Each stakeholder must be taking part in the planning, prep, testing, and deployment of tools and upgrades that you roll out.
Let’s take a look at a four-step approach that I have used over and over to provide the framework for success when an innovative idea comes along. It starts with a flash of insight and ends with a concrete change or expansion of technology use.
Step One: The Idea
It has been said that ideas are cheap. This is because they seem so easy to come by. They pop in and out of your head at random times throughout the day. Some seem good at the time and others seem like wild stabs in the dark. Most of them are passed over due to inattention or time constraints. Some linger and prompt deeper thought. Some are given life and transform your processes.
I often wonder when I hear a good idea… “where did that come from?” “How did the person come up with that idea?” I kick myself sometimes and comment… “Why didn’t I think of that?” And how many of us have said, “Why didn’t we think of that sooner?” Maybe that is why I like the show “Shark Tank” so much. It is interesting to hear the negotiations by the celebrity investors, but the best part is the short presentations that are given by the inventors of the products or services they are pitching. The one to two minute presentations frame the idea and present it, but the lights go on (or off) for the investors almost instantly. You can almost hear them say “That is a great idea.” And you better hope they don’t say “I’m Out.”
If you pause and observe, you will hear many good ideas floating around for improving your tech environment, saving time and money, or just advancing the tools you are using. If you listen well, you may hear 10 to 20 ideas in a week, if not a single day. Users, managers, clients, vendors, and so many more frequently drop them into conversations throughout the day. Some are wild ventures into fantasy, but most are valid attempts to respond to problems, get around troubles, or improve the status quo.
These ideas may be directly provided through statements that start with “We should…” or “Here is what I am doing.” Others are tossed around like leaves blowing in the wind and come at you prefaced with “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” or “There should be a button that…” No matter how they might be spoken, ideas are all around us.
Adjacent Possibilities
In his book, Where Good Ideas Come From, (Riverhead Books - October, 2010), Steven Johnson puts out the thought of “adjacent possibilities.” It is the concept of one door leading to another. It is how we get from here to there. Johnson points out that most successful ideas are just that—adjacent to the existing norm. Those ideas that are not so adjacent tend to struggle or fail and are deemed “ahead of their time.”
One example in the book demonstrates the concept of adjacency. The Apollo 13 rescue mission needed a way to scrub carbon dioxide from the Lunar Module or the astronauts would be poisoned by the breath they were exhaling. You remember the scene in the Ron Howard movie… They toss a pile of random equipment on a table at Mission Control and hold up a real carbon scrubber and challenges the team to create “one of these” using “nothing but that.” The answer was defined by the adjacency of the items on the table. The answer came from existing items.
Capturing Ideas
Gather ideas by jotting them down. You may want to run some to ground by talking them out at the time they come up, but I have taken notes and reviewed them later for a more thoughtful review. Be ready with a pen and notepad, or type them into your smartphone. They come at you during breaks, lunchtime, during meetings on differing topics, and during formal efforts to troubleshoot and reinvent. Most of them fly by and no one really takes notice. When they pop into a conversation, some may chuckle and think “Yeah – right.” But you should not let them pass between your ears without stopping them for pondering later.
Making Ideas Better
One thing I know is that a shared idea gets better. No one can think of everything. The sharing of an idea tends to make others improve on it. As quick as lightning, you can find improvements in your thinking just by letting others know your thoughts. They will contribute and build upon what you came up with. Or when someone shares an idea, you can be the refiner and improver. It helps to share them and not to hoard good ideas.
When you share, it allows others to connect the dots. They add their knowledge and experience, which make the original even more focused. It tunes the idea in on the main area of need or repair. Sharing allows others to contribute, and contributions move a notion to a solution. When you share you increase the options (adjacencies) by adding items to the random equipment on the table from our prior illustration.
Your technology environment is the pile of equipment. Your ability to try, test, attempt, and succeed is framed by what you have now. People, process, procedure, program, and more contribute to that pile. By capturing ideas, you can see what tomorrow might bring.
Next month we will look at how to move ideas to tangible, working successes. Until then, start brainstorming and chatting up the ideas.
