“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” — Harriet Tubman
Viewing entries tagged
ideas
I read with interest an article in the Huffington Post that recounted the 1500 meter race at the Rio Paraolympic games. The top four finishers in the visually impaired category would have beat the Olympic Gold metalist, a very talented Matthew Centrowitz Jr. Abdellatif Baka, Tamiru Demisse, Henry Kirwa, and Fouad Baka all ran faster than Centrowitz.
The 1500 meter race at the Olympics was very strategic and not necessarily fast. In fact, Centrowitz was way off his best time and in fact, there are over a dozen high school kids in the US that have ran faster than the time he posted at the Rio Games, but still the achievements of these blind or nearly-blind running is remarkable.
It leaves me with some “what if” questions.
What if these runners had been on the field at the regular Olympic games? How would they have done? They certainly were capable of finishing the distance in time. But without their sight, could they have known their position in the strategic race that left people guessing until the end who would emerge victorious.
How does a blind or visually-impaired runner judge his position on the track? How does he know if he is in the leading pack or one further back? How does he pace himself (or herself) in the field that is running that day?
And what does this have to teach us about the vision and insight we have today about our businesses, products, and projects? Does having more information make us a better finisher? Not in all cases.
I am inclined to agree with Tim Washer speaking at ContentMarketing World who recently concluded “analysis is good, but don’t let it kill a good idea.” At least not all the time.
What if someone combined a pizza place (like MOD) with the business model of Toms shoes? For every pizza sold, one would be given to a hungry person (through a school, at a homeless shelter, through service agencies, etc). I bet people would pay a little more for their pizza knowing they are helping a good cause. Plus, it could make people choose your pizza place over others when corporate events and birthday parties came around. It would taste good and make them look good while they are doing good.
Someone should do this. And tell me about it. You’re welcome.
“Technology harnesses and amplifies ideas.” - Thaniya Keereepart, mobile strategist for TED
Warning: contagious idea factory. Prolonged exposure has been known to lead to elevated heart rates, provocative insights, a profound sense of possibility, and remarkable achievement.
This doodle was inspired by a poster hanging in the Portland, Oregon offices of the marketing agency, Grady Britton. I liked the play on the traditional greeting "have a nice day," but it brought something else to mind as well. And that is that our ideas should be nice. As in, kind, generous, and gracious. They should be filled with humility and a genuine concern for others. Because our ideas are our thoughts. And our thoughts are our actions. As we start this week, have a nice idea and make the world better! Especially important as we head into November and a seasons of thanksgiving!
Interestingly enough, I got to know Grady Britton through their work with the non-profit, Marathon Scholars. I serve on Marathon's board of trustees and Grady Britton developed a great campaign for them this past year. So, I guess they were putting that poster work and having nice ideas!
In her book, You Can Kill an Idea, But You Can't Kill an Opportunity author and consultant, Pam Henderson, contrasts ideas to business opportunities and creates a framework for exploring and developing opportunities. In her vernacular, ideas are the proverbial shiny objects that are tactical in nature and might distract an organization from the real opportunities before them.
As a bit of an "idea factory" myself I do find it important to keep the business goals ever present. After all, creativity can be waste, unless the unique and original ideas are valuable to your customers or lead your organization forward.