A Good Idea is an Axe

Good ideas don’t come from "no where", they are actually the product of deep (and often unconscious) thinking processes. Even the ideas that spring into your mind are the end result of a long creative process — where your conscious and unconscious minds work together to solve a problem. Sometimes it is not the "solution" that springs to mind, but the "problem".

Often, it is only when you are actively brainstorming something, that you uncover the REAL problem, or the "root cause". Once you have the root cause, you will often find that the "answer" is easy to find because you have already done all the hard work of problem solving along the way. The problem is, is that most people will not get as far as the root cause. They will find a solution earlier.

So how do you know when you have a REAL solution to a REAL problem? You will know because a good idea is not friendly — it will hit you like an axe. It should wake you up. It should make you wonder HOW you are going to do it. It should raise more questions.

It should be, in Kafka’s words "… an axe for the frozen sea inside you".

But a good idea is also compelling. You wont be able to let it go. It will gnaw at your consciousness.

I loved the way that Seth Godin shows that ideas can be implemented easily. But often, creativity and innovation take longer to realise. A good idea will never become more than a good idea without the energy, commitment and passion to bring it to life. You need to find an audience, tell a story and keep going even when you and your idea keeps being rejected.

Your challenge is to turn it around … turn the idea into an axe that can break down the doors.

S.