Innovation
By Michael Angier
Ideas Are Cheap – But Extremely Valuable
Around the year 1900, there was serious discussion about disbanding the
US Patent Office because many believed there were few inventions still to
be patented. The common wisdom was that all the great inventions had
already been taken. No doubt there are people today who feel the same way.
I disagree. I believe the world is entering a time of unprecedented
innovation. We're experiencing some of the greatest prosperity we've ever
known. Productivity is at an all-time high. And when basic needs are met,
it's easier to be creative.
Innovation is not only for so-called "creative" minds. We're all
creative, and each of us has the ability to generate ideas to solve
problems in our businesses and improve our relationships.
Innovation is nothing more than taking information and reorganising it
in new ways.
It's important to take some of our increased productivity and use some
of the time saved to think and create. Ask questions. Dig deep. Think
about what you want and what others might want. What problems need to be
solved and how can we solve them? Remember that it's okay to borrow ideas
as long as you don't borrow them all from one place.
Arnold Glasgow said, "Ideas not coupled with action never become bigger
than the brain cells they occupied."
Ideas are cheap. It's implementation that creates the real value. Ideas
by themselves are worthless. Plans are nothing unless they are followed
with action. An idea without a strategy, without action, is useless.
That said, it's still paramount we keep track of the ideas we have.
Write them down. Record them in some fashion. And make them easy to access
later. You never know when an idea may trigger another one that could be
just the one to make you a million dollars … or save a million. An idea
you have today may be impractical. Or perhaps you may be unable to do
anything about it at the moment. No matter. Make sure you record it
somewhere. If you make it easy to do, you'll do more of it.
I use my Task List in Microsoft Outlook to keep track of ideas. I can
categorize them and they're easy to find. Index cards also work well. They
fit handily in a shirt pocket or purse and are easy to sort and
categorize. You can even use your journal or a separate document on your
word processor. The easier it is to find and review them, the more
valuable your ideas will be to you.
I also use a hand-held tape recorder in my car to record ideas as they
occur to me. It's not only handy, it's safer … I don't try to write stuff
down as I'm driving. Later, I transcribe the ideas into my Microsoft
Outlook files.
If you're truly looking for ideas and answers to problems, you'll
surely find them. Think of them as decks of cards lined up to infinity.
Each card is an idea or solution. One might be a low card … another a face
card. Occasionally, you find an ace. If
you keep picking them up, you'll get better at reading the cards.
You'll make it a habit and you'll find some aces.
Pick the best, implement them, and watch your life, and even the lives
of those around you, work better.
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