365QOD- Day1019

A Better Mousetrap

“Of all the myths of creativity, the Mousetrap Myth is perhaps the most stifling to innovation because it doesn't concern generating ideas. Rather, it affects how ideas are implemented. It’s not enough for an organization to have creative people; it has to develop a culture that doesn't reject great ideas. It’s not enough for people to learn how to be more creative; they also need to be persistent through the rejection they might face. . .

We don’t just need more great ideas; we need to spread the great ideas we already have.” - David Burkus, The Myths of Creativity

The idea that if you come up with a better idea to do something that the world will immediately adapt is ludicrous.  It just does not happen.  The lone inventor developing a super complex idea is not unheard of but is rare.

I believe that most of us have great many million, if not billion, dollar ideas in our lifetimes.  The problem is that these ideas  only stay as ideas.  They are just mental flossing and they never see the intended customer as a product. 

In industry it is even tougher to get an idea to get accepted and executed.  This is where ideas need to be pushed through every layer of the organization.  This is not an easy process and the pusher most often gets tired and gives up.  The organizational culture has to be such to nurture those ideas(not reject them immediately) and give them nourishment to survive(funding). 

As I mentioned in recent weeks I have become fascinated with the show Shark Tank.  It seems kind of harsh when folks get rejected.  But at least these are folks that took an idea and executed it.  Some creations are more profitable than others and some people can sell the idea better to the venture capitalists(VCs).  In the end they have a mousetrap that someone buys into.

There are many who get rejected by all of the VCs but immediately after walking out say that they still believe in their idea and that they will prove the VCs wrong.  Some presenters even get contacted by other VCs who believe that they can help them. The key is the “they also need to be persistent through the rejection(s) they face…”

Today’s question is:

“What better mousetrap will you persist though many rejections in order to execute?”