So I managed to piss some people off during the “Havi and Naomi talk about sidestepping the tight economy” call.
Here’s what I said:
The implementation of an idea is more important than the idea itself.
The funny thing is that if you hate this concept, I agree — yeah, this is depressing and annoying. And I don’t want it to be true either.
I mean, come on. I’m an ideas person. It’s what I do all day: have ideas. That, and talk to myself my duck.
I wish the ideas were what counted most too.
And I dearly wish that those of us who had smart techniques and powerful concepts for changing the world could have an easier time of it.
That we could get the support and recognition we deserve, while putting those techniques and concepts out into the world. So our ideas can get to the people we want to help — the people who really need them.
But since that isn’t necessarily going to automatically just happen, we have to deal with how things actually work in real life.
And how we can use real-life to our advantage. That’s where implementation comes in.
Bad news and good news
The bad news: your idea doesn’t matter.
The good news: your idea can succeed; so it actually will matter to those who need it.
Okay, so I like a good idea as much as the next person — in fact, considerably more — and it’s still all about implementation.
You can succeed wildly with a sucky idea. You can fail miserably with a great idea.
Clients and friends are always coming to me with their ideas, and wanting to know if I think these are “good” ones.
Is it a good idea? Sure, I think it’s a terrific idea. But so what?
What people really want to know is whether or not I think their idea can succeed. And (insert some legitimate wailing about the unfairness of life here), whether or not an idea is good has very little to do with that.
An example.
If you’ve ever heard super legendary copywriter guy Joe Sugarman talk about his “Blublocker” sunglasses story, maybe you know what I mean.
Joe Sugarman sold millions and millions of dollars worth of those things not because they were the best idea in the world, but because he used the magic of words to convince people that these sunglasses were going to make their life better.
It wasn’t about the sunglasses.
Back to the question.
Is your idea good? Maybe.
Could your idea succeed?
Joe Sugarman could make it work. I could do it too. So could Naomi or Mark or Molly.
I won’t speak for Mr. Sugarman, but the rest of us definitely wouldn’t be able to work on making an idea successful unless we believed in it wholeheartedly. Unless we were passionate about it.
But we know how to implement ideas — how to take a concept and figure out how to get our right people to agree to it.
Yay, you have a good idea. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do about it.
The point.
The point is not the idea itself. The point is: what are you going to do to help your Right People understand what this idea could mean for them? That’s the thing that’s going to matter them the most.
A good idea is a great start. A less than good idea can still fly.
Either way, you’re going to need to use the stuff on this list:
- Non-sleazy copywriting (FYI: I’ll also be teaching a class on this).
- Doing one thing each day to move it forward even if it’s just working on fear and stucknesses.
- Unearthing the benefits of your idea so your Right People can say hooray!
- Personality.
- Vision. Thinking big but not scary-big.
- Having techniques to destuckify as stuff comes up along the way.
Notice I didn’t mention the M-word.
Obviously there’s a lot to work on here, and it will take more than just one post to talk about what the next steps are. This is just to give you a sense of what the elements are of biggifying any idea (whether it’s a good one or just okay).
I know your idea is brilliant.
Actually, I love that your idea is brilliant. It deserves to be fabulously successful, if only because it wouldn’t be fair to your Right People for them not to be able to enjoy the good stuff that would result.
But the part that interests me is figuring out how we’re going to make your ideas work — so we can get them out in front of the people who need them.
I can’t tell you how much I’d love it if one of my clients said, “I have this idea. How are we going to make it work?”
You can pretty much stop worrying if your idea is a good one. What I care about is the answer to the question “do you have a good heart?” And I think you do.
Because then we can start applying the stuff that makes ideas sticky, exciting, and accessible.
Assume your idea can succeed, and let’s go from there. It’s only half as crazy as it sounds.
Follow
Looking at it another way, you could have a great truth to share but if you can’t put it into words nobody will get it.
Or . . . you could see a beautiful sunrise and want to share a photo of it. But unless you take the photo, and give it to someone else, nobody else will see it.
There is just a way things are done if you want to be successful, and there’s no point boxing with the wind.
Great post. And for avoiding the M word you are certainly showing yourself to be an M-er.
Terry Heaths last blog post..Are You a Mozart or a Franklin?
what i’m loving here is the subtext that it’s not about you! or your great idea! it’s about the people who will get some value from it.
i’m continually amazed at the (guilty as charged!) prodigious narcissistic navel-gazing self involvement that constitutes the better (?) part of the blogosphere.
so three cheers to risking the piss and emphasizing implementation over ideation!
chass last blog post..monday morning motivator!: 15, becoming the decider
Havi, I’m thrilled that you’re walking us through the process of taking a good idea and making it real so that it will actually help the people who need it. Yaay! That’s what life’s all about . . . bringing dreams down to earth, where they can make a positive difference in people’s lives.
As always, you get to the essence of what matters, and then shine a light on the steps that it takes to get there.
Thank you, my love. You are wonderful.
xo HIro
Hiro Bogas last blog post..Creative Connection: Where’s Your Muse When the Baby’s Spitting Up at 3 am?
I agree with Chas! Keeping the ego out of blogging is something I think about a lot. This post really highlights that idea– it’s never about the idea-maker, it’s about how it helps people!
Though in a perfect world, the idea-maker could get back enough support (emotional and financial) to allow her to continue making her ideas. 🙂
Laurie | Your Ill-fitting Overcoats last blog post..Not Yet Titled, Part I
Quite right! (And whew! What a relief, yeah? Not having to come up with the ‘perfect idea’! By the way, I love that analogy up there of taking the pic of the sunrise. 😉 )
I knew this guy once. He had AWESOME ideas. Seriously! He’d tell us his ideas and we’d all go, “My goodness! I can think of 15 companies RIGHT NOW who could use EXACTLY what you’re talking about.”
And he never did the first thing about any of them.
He’s living off his girlfriend now. (Uh huh.)
There are plenty of products out there that…well…I mean, come on…the “Sham-wow!” Seriously? And those people are making money somehow. Uh huh.
😉
So yeah. The idea doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be completely original (how many life coaches are out there? They’re all life coaches….but THEY make their own thing unique…..)
Can’t wait to see you write more on this!
All the best!
deb
Deb Owens last blog post..going against the grain (using goals to standardize behavior)
@Terry: “There’s no point boxing with the wind.” Fantastic. I love that.
@chas: oh me to (guilty as charged)! One of the most useful things my business mentor used to tell me was, “Havi, your business is not about you. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s obnoxious and self-involved to tell people about your work- it’s not for you, it’s for them.”
Hard to remember. Useful to know. As you know. 🙂
@Hiro: I like that, bringing dreams down to earth. You always have the most poetic way of summing up whatever my idea of the day is.
@Laurie: Right? I can’t wait for the day I get hired by someone just to generate ideas. Ideas!
@Deb: I have no idea what is a “sham-wow” but I’m positive that someone could make a fortune on it. Just because. Has anyone seen my sham-wow?
Oh yeah! You don’t have a TV, do ya? Trust me. It’s like the most obnoxious “as-seen-on-TV-order-now” things there is. And it’s like….a cloth.
haha
Deb Owens last blog post..make a referral week (special mentions)
Once again, you’re right there talking about things I am working on resolving. Actually, the first thing on which I want to work using my Shiva Nata practice is my need to switch from a passive mode to an active mode. Less thinking about my ideas and those things I want to do, and more actually getting to act on these ideas and doing those things. Thanks, Havi – I appreciate that you’re out there, accompanying me on that journey.
Because the blogosphere and twitter do revolve around me and my navel gazing, I hope you didn’t think I was pissed off when I tweeted you – is that what it’s called? I’m new to twitter – about the idea vs. idea implementation. It’s an intriguing concept to me…and my brushes up against my stuckness.
Gotta get back to thinking about myself. 😉
Hey sweetie,
On target as usual. It’s the age old artist’s dilemma. I work with people all the time who are mostly concerned with whether their art is good art or bad art, and they get all confused when they see people who are obviously making ( what looks like to them ) bad art and being successful. It doesn’t compute . There is something in the creative brain that wants to equate artistic value or good ideas or whatever with worldly success. Without doing anything other than just making the fabulous art or having the fabulous idea.
And they have such a hard time hearing that it doesn’t matter. There is no connection between the quality of the art and how well it is received in the world. That involves a whole other orientation and set of skills. And motivations. So I’m glad that you’re addressing this. And I’m not surprised that it’s pissing certain people off!
Keep up the great work!
Hugs and stuff,
Chris
chris zydels last blog post..CATASTROPHES R ( NO LONGER) US
that’s such a great point, chris, because look at the beatles, the greatest merger of high and low art since shakespeare…and they started out as a crappy little rock and roll band that just worked harder than anyone else! and then after 5 years became an over night success. and still sore losers complain that they weren’t that great.
viva hard work! (must repeat over and over!)
chass last blog post..monday morning motivator!: 15, becoming the decider
and I’m thinking that this is a more general case of what i,m trying to explain to academics about publishing. The journal you publish in matters because you are trying to get your ideas/arguments/data/research results out there into a conversation…
It is really interesting to think about how this applies in business though. Excellent explanation.
JoVEs last blog post..If I knew then… #2: Publishing in the wrong places
I am a sucker for a good salesman. I bought Sham-wow! And I love it. I have also bought the amazing dicer/chopper/shredder thingy at the swap meet and the microfiber mop set (works great).
Once a man sold me a car (while I was on vacation for 4th of July) by saying, “of course I realize you’d have to go home and talk it over with your husband first.” Sold.
I would love to be able to sell well. That’s why I’m reading blogs all day long….
Dianas last blog post..Whichever coastline beckons
Hi Havi,
I really enjoyed this post. And you’re right. I get ideas, but don’t always implement them. 🙁 I just need to get my ideas on paper and then get them published. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this.
Heiddis last blog post..Computer Allergies
Hi Havi!
Thank you for this post. I am interested in your non-sleazy copywriting class…where can I find more information?
I actually have no ideas, but I love the idea of helping people sell their crappy (and hopefully, mostly non-crappy) ideas. Bring it!
xoxo
Mandy
Mandy Blakes last blog post..Husband Tries Conscious Eating
Thank you for this post, Havi.
I’ve got an idea, and I think it’s actually a pretty good one, at least it has the potential to bring a quite few people some joy into the days.
But…
But I have NO idea how to start realizing it!
Seriously, I usually do one of two things:
1) I draw a blank in certain areas (aka – okay… what do I do now?) and there’s not even a starting point for planning. (happens rarely) I know what I want, but not how to start getting it.
2) There are so many options that I’m to paralysed to make a decision. There’s so much stuff and no matter how I decide, I’ll later feel I have decided wrong. A pattern I know well – No matter how I decide, I’m going to kick myself later and can’t seem to stop.
And thus I get caught up in busy work only remotly related to the idea. Doesn’t get me forward, but at least I have the feeling I do something.
I don’t feel stuck, just very, very confused. If i knew what to do, I’d do it! XD
So, what now?
Carinas last blog post..City of Heroes – Chalcara
Yes, as someone who comes up with lots of amazing ideas, I can certainly agree that the difficult part is following through on them. Vision is a wonderful thing — it’s a key part of putting together a great enterprise — but you can also find success just by putting one foot in front of the other, over and over again.
One of my “hardest things” is to get myself to stop coming up with new ideas and just focus on executing on the ones that I’ve got cooking right now.
I think there’s a book in there for Havi and Selma.
Dick Carlsons last blog post..Amusing Myself During Conference Calls
Oh, Havi, you had me at
…I’d love it if one of my clients said, “I have this idea. How are we going to make it work?”
LOVE this article.
Hayden Tompkinss last blog post..The Secret to Getting Kids to Read
Havi and Selma, you are sooo correct! The thing is what does one do about this situation?
For instance since 1974 I’ve been fascinated with an idea that is about us human beings.
I’ve applied myself over time to create a series of games based activities that effectively maps the way that we humans naturally relate the weight/shape of ourselves to what is found all around us.
But getting a backers attention to help me to film my games insert them into a publication and sell them over the internet? now aint that a trip…
All I get is people wanting money and yet nobody seems to understand this is a storyboard about the way humans move and games don’t need to be published in english. That it will make money because it enhances peoples behaviours.
it’s sooo frustrating I tell ya not being heard!
Johnny Pink