Ideas are a product of discovery, not creation

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The headline is a summation of what George Lois, considered one of the greatest art directors and 'the original mad man', had to say about ideas.

"I don’t think I create anything. I’m really serious — I discover the ideas.

If you understand how to think… If you have a background of graphic art, and you are a sports fan, and you’re literate, and you’re interested in politics, and you love opera, and ballet’s not bad either, and if you understand people… and you understand language, and you understand that product, and you understand the competitive products… and you put that all together in about ten minutes — the idea’s there."

Be open to experiences and you are likely to come up with interesting ideas. Learn it from masters like George Lois.

Chaos is good

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I feel vindicated for having written this piece about chaos earlier.

I cannot but wonder why agencies are so chaos(and risk) averse when they are supposed to be a creative environment helping solve client's problems? Everything is buttoned down into a neat process with very little leeway for interesting creative expression. This also true of most organizations. 

But then, is there a formula for chaos that will hopefully result in amazing creative work? In many ways formula and chaos are antithesis of each other. Therefore, do not expect a formula. Instead create an environment that will foster risk taking and adventure. This might result in the kind of chaos that will enable some amazing work to emerge.

In recent times, I have been fascinated with Valve. Their model of no bosses, no delegation, no commands should have meant collapse of the company. Instead, it is probably an interesting approach to creating chaos and great products. It has created for sure one of the hottest software companies in the world.

Conformity

Solomon Asch conducted the above experiment in 1962. This experiment was repeated in recent times by USF with the same results.

People will agree with others or follow them even when others are wrong. Conformity is everywhere. Government, industry, marketing and advertising. People think they are setting out do something different and yet all they wind up doing is more of the same.

Conformity of the group is the reason great ideas get mauled in research, much like a hapless victim getting mauled by hungry lions in a Roman Colosseum.

'Innovation', is the most powerful word invented to help us live in a state of denial about being conformists in our actions. This is specially true of marketing and advertising. In recent times, I have been to meetings and presentations that I can recall were seen as 'innovative' fifteen years ago. Innovation is used to describe anything from a front-page takeover of a daily to creating a Facebook page. 

I guess, being a conformist must be lucrative. There are a lot of them around.

Dead Ideas

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I have lost track of the number of times I have seen this happen. What about you?

The boss is no longer the Caesar

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I came across this short but illuminating speech by Scott Cook, Intuit’s founder.

He gives very interesting suggestions on how bosses can help create a culture of innovation within an organization. Following are some of the gems from his speech.

“Boss’s role is not that of Caesar making decisions, but to put in a system where junior people can learn from faster and cheaper experiments, so that ideas can prove themselves.”

“Move decision making from politics and power-points to enabling ideas to prove themselves. Nothing enfranchises innovators more than this.”

He stresses that this approach can work in formulating government policies as much as helping companies launch new ideas/products. The examples in his speech amply demonstrate this.

You might think that in the digital environment, like for example in a digital agency, the culture of low-cost and fast experimentation is all pervasive. Nothing can be further from the truth than that.

Testing an idea with low-cost or no-cost experiments almost never happens. Somehow the mindset of ‘big campaigns’ with ‘big budgets’ always comes into play, even in the digital space. In fact, the client is a willing accomplice to this. But this big budget does not translate to bigger fees as far as agencies are concerned. Digital agencies, for the most part, live in penury when compared to their mainline agency cousins.

I guess, we are in the mesozoic stage of digital evolution in India. Let the dinosaurs roam.

Did Hitchcock script this moment?

“I am to provide the public with beneficial shocks.” - Hitchcock

I love the term ‘beneficial shocks’. Wasn’t that the case in the brilliantly plotted moment seen above? In true Hitchcock style, there was unexpectedness and drama that magnified the tension for the unsuspecting victims (and audience). The tension was released by bottles of beer…er…the brand. A brand moment brand managers would die for.

 BTW, I might be wrong about Hitchcock. Could it have been Woody Allen who scripted this?

It's right to be wrong

 

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The beautiful thought above is credited to Paul Arden.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if people practiced the above thought? The predictable and banal approach to all aspects of our lives - government policies, business, marketing, brand campaigns - are as a result of our aversion to taking risks. The world needs creative solutions to overcome challenges that seem to be cropping up at every corner.

But then, isn’t it asking for a bit too much from this world?

We worship at the altar of success and all its trappings, especially the material kind. One cannot afford to be seen as being wrong. Therefore, folks in the government or in the corporate world or in their personal lives resort to CYA (Cover Your A*se). 

The result - “the other guy is to blame”. Some hapless soul is made the fall-guy and everyone returns home happy while renewing a new cycle of the same mistake.

Am I right or wrong?      

Steal

  

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'Inspired' is the word used by creative types in place of 'steal'. But then "it's is where you take them to" that matters. It is then that people automatically know whether it was 'inspired' or 'stolen'. Amen.

Do not covet your ideas

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Every time I am asked to sign an NDA, I feel like a Luddite. The scholars of the ancient world did not file for copyrights. They shared their knowledge for all of us to enjoy and benefit. They would have been happy with the thoughts mentioned in the poster above. 

Ideas mean nothing

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Ideas, we all have them. They seem to pop-up like fireflies in the night sky. And like fireflies they seem to disappear in a flash, sucked in by the void. It takes a very brave and persevering soul to bring ideas to life. It does not matter whether the ideas were a success or a failure when finally developed. The fact that the ideas finally came into play is an achievement in itself.

You can find these brave souls in every walk of life. An ability to execute their ideas no-matter-what is the DNA plug that sets them apart. I have immense admiration for them.  I keep tossing lot of ideas but never gotten round implementing even one of them. It can be depressing especially when you see the very idea doing the rounds.

I hope to close the gap between idea(s) and execution thanks in large measure due to inspiration I find in the online (social) world. One such inspiration is a wonderful piece by Derek Sivers.  I have reproduced below a simple formula by which he proves that idea is a multiplier of execution.

Ideas are worth nothing unless they are executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.

Explanation:

AWFUL IDEA = -1

WEAK IDEA = 1

SO-SO IDEA = 5

GOOD IDEA = 10

GREAT IDEA = 15

BRILLIANT IDEA = 20

NO EXECUTION = $1

WEAK EXECUTION = $1000

SO-SO EXECUTION = $ 10,000

GOOD EXECUTION = $ 100,000

GREAT EXECUTION = $1,000,000

BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $ 10,000,000

To make a business, you need to multiply the two.

The most brilliant idea, with no execution, is worth only $20.

The most brilliant takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000.

That’s why I do not want hear people’s ideas.

I want to see their executions.

What are you waiting for?

Where good ideas come from

Video courtesy: David Gillespie

The sign-off "Chance favours the connected mind" says it all.