Archive for the Ideas Category

If you think people are resistant to change, trying pitching an idea that’s already been tried before and failed.

The immediate reaction is usually dismissive – “that won’t work” or “don’t even try it.”  Sometimes the pain still lingers from the last failed attempt.  Other times, the old saying “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” is invoked.

What we fail to consider is there’s more than one way to implement change.  Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t me you shouldn’t try.  Perhaps you have a different perspective.  Maybe the timing wasn’t right before.  Or, perhaps new technology makes it easier.

The iPod was not the first MP3 player but perhaps the most successful.

The household product WD-40 was actually named after the 40th attempt at a successful formula.

Thomas Edison failed over 1,000 times before perfecting the first electrical light bulb.

New approaches are not limited to products.  Failed attempts to improve internal processes, timelines, or other ideas can all be successful with a different point of view.

The list goes on.

The 2 key questions to ask:  Why did it fail before? and What can we do differently this time?

There’s no guarantee it will work the next time.  But it’s important to not write it off completely just because it was tried once before.

With the upcoming Super Bowl, I gave thought to what the business world would look like if we added flavor from the sports world.

Imagine some of the fun moments:

1. Emptying the coffee pot without a refill incurs the wrath of Terry Tate, office linebacker (you kill the joe, you make some mo’!)
2. Every 8-10 minutes of a conference call, the meeting organizer announces “we’ll be right back after this TV timeout” subsequently follow by 3 minutes of everyone standing around.
3. Trading your high potential consultant to a competitor for 2 average consultants, cash, and a player to be named later (still in college)
4. A horde of people sitting in your office or cubicle, cheering or booing wildly based on your mouse clicks
5. The Budweiser Clydesdales available during lunchtime for a ride around the parking lot
6. A dress code so everyone wears the same uniform
7. Employees not coming into work until management pays them more because they ‘outperformed’ their contract
8. Video replay of mundane tasks in slow motion with witty remarks from an unseen commentator.  Watch how perfect Michael staples these papers together!
9. Anyone responding ‘Reply All’ to a company wide email distribution gets hit with a penalty and forced to work in the bathroom (or other penalty box) for 5 minutes
10. The mandatory greeting when the receptionist answers the phone is WASSUP!
11. Random spitting on the floor or grabbing body parts… just because.

What other fun moments can you think of?  Did you know creating lists like this on a daily basis can turn you into an idea machine?

I’ve always wanted to start my own business.  The problem?  I couldn’t think of any good ideas (or so I told myself).  I chalked it up to the fact that I was the “Operations Guy”, able to take someone else’s idea, and build and scale it to profitability, as opposed to the “Idea Guy,” the person who can think of a ton of ideas but can’t execute on them.

I continued to press on and stressed over finding that perfect idea that never popped into my brain.

I found I wasn’t alone.  Many other people are in the same boat.  So, are we Ops guys destined to always be the #2 to the visionary?

Not so fast.  James Altucher argues we all have the capability to generate ideas.  He calls it the idea muscle.  Similar to a muscle that atrophies over time without use, so does the idea muscle.  His premise?  The more you exercise the idea muscle, the more ideas will flow on a daily basis.  In short, write down 10 ideas a day, every day, for 6 months.  Don’t worry if they are good or bad.  As a result, you’ll find yourself continually coming up with more ideas, seemingly out of nowhere.

Try it.  You’ll be surprised to find it works.  While I haven’t done Altucher’s method yet, I can see it working on a smaller scale.  I’ve only been blogging for a couple weeks and it seems like every day I think of a couple new ideas to add to my notepad.  The more you use it, the more ideas will come.

Want to join me in thinking of 10 ideas a day for the next 6 months?  Altucher claims once you’re done it will feel like you have a super power.  Sounds exciting.  Who knows, maybe I’ll become the “idea guy.”  Can’t wait to find out.