Tell me, how many times have you heard someone saying, "I have an idea..." And most of the time, what they say after that becomes "blah, blah" for us. So in our heads, we keep shrugging off the idea of whatever they are talking about.
I come across at least one person a day who has got an idea of something or about something. But here is the main question...
What is so mythical about it?
First thing first - what is an idea anyway? I consider it a blip in the time (your time) that occurs when you see a pattern. You feel the pattern you found is interesting. And quite frankly, it may not be a big deal in the long run, but for that second, it seems quite interesting.
The important part here is: what makes sense or seems innovative in the long run always starts with this little blip. But only if we care and dare. We must have enough curiosity to care about it, and we must have the courage to dare act on it.
We must have enough curiosity to care about our idea, and we must have the courage to dare act on it.
Now, acting on it does not imply you implement your idea. Act merely suggests you take the next step, test it, at least to a point where you can make an informed decision. Giving your idea a fair chance and evaluating it is all you need to begin with.
The common myth of "If I have an idea and I don't implement it, then it is useless," is the showstopper. On the contrary, the thinking, "If I have an idea, then I must implement it," is also another myth that can put you in a soup. Either way, the thinking "I have an idea means it should be definitive..." is a myth. We must avoid being extremist about it on either side.
The thinking "I have an idea means it should be definitive..." is a myth.
What can you do to go beyond that stage?
This is a million-dollar question for anyone in innovation or willing to innovate. So people say, fine, I understand the concepts, but "how" do I actually do this?
There is a long answer, and there is a short one too. So let's go with the short version today.
If you ever have an "I have an idea..." moment, take one more step. Write down that idea, explain it and elaborate on that idea further. We can achieve a lot if we merely expand on our thinking.
Once you explain and elaborate it to your satisfaction, you can further flesh it out. Some creative touches can be quite useful. But eventually, it will come down to one decisive step. And that step is - experimentation!
Experimentation helps you generate much-valued data.
You will need to run some inexpensive experiments around that idea. These experiments help generate much-valued data, which otherwise won't be available at the outset. If all you have is an idea, there is no data, and it is hard to decide. Experimentation will give you that data to make an informed decision.
I will write more about experimentation sometime later. But for now, remember just one thing - if you have an "I have an idea..." moment, try it out, give it a fair chance.
If you are still not convinced, watch this...