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Three Little Pigs And The Big Bad Idea

by Rich Lazzara

Are you afraid of the Big Bad Idea?

Need an idea for that next product? How about an idea to bring in more customers or a new idea to present to your boss. Coming up with ideas isn’t a problem for most.  In fact ideas aren’t the problem at all.   Releasing the ideas is where the process comes to stop. For most, your ideas are killed even before they make it to the presentation.   The ideas you have are never allowed to see the light of day. That’s because you’ve been taught, even conditioned to be afraid of the big bad idea.  Afraid of what will happen or what others will think.

How many bad ideas have you released?

Your ability to take ideas, release to the market, get feedback and improve is the path that will lead to that one good idea. Just like the Three Little Pigs, in order to beat that big bad idea you have to keep trying new things, new approaches, new techniques.  It’s the process of releasing ideas,  getting feedback, improving, and allowing your ideas to change that will lead to good ideas.

In my office I have a Michael Jordan poster that is a great reminder to me that failure is a key ingredient to success. It says,

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot..and missed.  Ive failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.

The art of coming up with that one brilliant idea, the one that launches your career to the next level, the one that increases sales by 40%, the one that puts you well on the path to entrepreneurial freedom, that one idea is proceeded by a bunch of bad ones.

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Tagged as: business model, creativity, entrepreneur, envision, ideas, process, share, strategy, success

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  • Rich,
    Very interesting topic. A few things really stick out to me.

    1. Innovation
    Recently I read a series of books by Mark Neumeier called 'Brand Gap','Zag', and 'Designful Company'. Especially Zag and Designful Company, these books were all about innovation and creativity. Totally changed the way I looked at entrepreneurship and branding.

    2. Failure
    Recently Jason Fried of 37Signals had a good point. He made a point that at some point it became cool to fail. I think we all need to realize that it isn't failing that is good, rather the lessons learned from it.
    http://37signals.com/podcast/#episode4

    3. Don't Worry, Be Happy
    I have tons on my plate recently, tons of ideas, unpaid bills, and more. But you know what, I'm happy and in one of the biggest creative modes of my life. I don't worry about all the other 'stuff'. I just do it.

    Thanks for this post! Very good one, as always!
  • Chris, man excellent comments!! Thanks for the great insight and links to others good stuff. I have read Brand Gap, however not the other two. I guess I will add them to my list. I am familiar with Jason F. and his work at 37sig is very good. That is a company to watch and model, very well run and fwd thinking.

    #3 says it all though. I just finished reading "Linchpin" which is all about creating great Art and giving it away. Art being anything you do because you love it....write, blog, draw, make, whatever. The bottom line is that we are all created to be "creative". Some may read that and think that not everyone is creative, but they are in there own way. If your human your creative and that creativity can be used in all kinds of ways. Thats the whole premise of everyones an entrepreneur. I know 100% that everyone has it in them to be an entrepreneur. That may mean selling things, that may mean raising money, that may mean leading a group, that may mean spreading a thought, but in all of us there is a creative entrepreneur.

    Appreciate the feedback.
  • I need to get Linchpin. I'm kinda waiting for the Apple news to see what kind of tablet they release. Would love to have an Apple Reader.

    On another separate note that you mentioned, I too believe everyone has it in them to become an entrepreneur. Honestly, not everyone will though. Most of the world has bought into the system. Go to college, get in debt, get a job, invest in the stock market, become hostage. Blunt, but true.

    For those of us crazy guys, we'll always be on the front lines. Yeah, we may be open to more 'risk', as we don't have 'job' stability. Well, wasn't born for someone else to own me. I was born to blaze my own path and pursue the crazy ideas that come into my mind.

    I also wasn't made to be a hostage to the broken world system. I flunked out of college. I never did really well in academics, but when I really love something, I focus like a laser and find ways of learning that topic then turning it around and creating something with it.

    For Example: When I was young I was BIG into the WWII era. I would sit around with my cousin in off-school time and we would watch WWII documentaries and make airplane models. We'd then rig them with explosives like firecrackers and other similar and equally as awesome explosives. We'd then get out the camera and film movies.

    Later, when seeking a 'job' in aviation by getting a professional degree in aviation, I flunked all my classes because I was at the airport all the time flying.

    I was the first to get my license.

    I luckily realized the airlines weren't for me and here I am, with my own little aviation training company.

    Now to think what would have happened had I been gobbled up by the airlines...
  • Chris, that's an awesome story. It's also a sign of things to come. People like you being tired of being caught in the system and breaking out on their own. Your site and training class are awesome too. Im excited for you and looking forward to seeing how it goes.
  • Rich,

    As you know through many of our conversations over the last several months both online and on the phone I"m the master of trying different ideas. Some call it ADHD :). I call it persistence and creativity. In the last 8 months I've started about 3 different blogs and attempted a multi-author project. However, it's through all of those that I arrive at the conclusion for the next idea which I'm launching which I have an almost sixth sense about in terms of how strong it's going to be in terms of success. So, I agree that you have to keep going through the bad ideas to get to one good one.
  • Srini, thats awesome! As someone who is familiar with your projects I must say its neat to see how you have continued to evolve and dev new ideas. Keep developing! Even if your next idea is a run away success you can always add more. Thanks for the comments.
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