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A More Difficult Aspect of Innovation |
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Written by Jonathan Cole
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Wednesday, 14 April 2010 05:41 |
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Coming up with fresh ideas is often the easiest part of innovation. Many people struggle for new ideas, saying it’s simply too hard to come up with new ideas. What these critics don’t realize is that coming up with ideas is only the beginning. The hard part comes after the idea.
Most ideas seem to stop after the origination of the idea. In marathon running, I have been told how runners experience a point called “hitting the wall”, which typically occurs around mile 18 of a 26.2 mile marathon. At this point, marathon runners feel like giving up. (My marathon give-up point would come at about 25……feet. I’m not a runner.) When “hitting the wall”, marathoners must push through and fight this feeling. If they can break through this moment of fatigue and self-doubt, they will likely complete the marathon.
Ideas are very similar. The steps following the origination of the idea are much like “hitting the wall” in a marathon. Thoughts, such as, “how can I possibly implement this?”, “what will others think of this idea?”, or “what was I possibly thinking?” will start to enter the mind. Pushing through and breaking this mindset will help lead to idea implementation and success.
For example, a coworker of mine had a great idea, although to many people it wasn’t a great idea at first. The idea he had was simple, almost so simple that it seemed like it couldn’t work. Some doubters literally laughed at him as he explained the idea. At this point, most people would experience self-doubt and likely choose not to keep pushing. This wasn’t the case! My coworker maintained confidence and simply said, “Watch. I’ll show you how it will work.” And he did! To the astonishment of the doubters, the idea worked, and it worked incredibly well.
Ideas only become good ideas as they are pursued from origination to implementation. When you work on your own ideas, fight to break through the barriers of doubt and lack of personal confidence. It will be worth the fight!
Jonathan Cole is the owner of Sugoi Innovations, LLC. He may be contacted at jon@sugoiinnovations.com. |
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