Good is good enough, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Your ideas are often worthless unless you have the tools and skills to execute them. Even the best and brightest creators/entrepreneurs fall victim to “Idea Overload.” Just think, how often are you in a creative meeting, on the couch or even in the shower when that game changing Idea strikes?
Do you even get the opportunity to make a note in your phone before your mind begins to race? Instantly thoughts of a bigger and better idea begin to form, often finding areas to improve upon the initial inspiration. By the time you take a step back your idea no longer resembles the original concept but instead, it has transformed into an intricate business venture that requires just as intricate of a marketing strategy to execute it.
Without even realizing it the moment you began to “improve” upon that initial idea, is the moment you began to KILL it. Here are four reasons why your IDEAS are killing your business.
1. Ideas are like opinions, everybody’s got one.
Chances are this isn’t the first time your “game changing” idea has been thought of, and it won’t be the last. Ideas alone aren’t the things that set creators and entrepreneurs apart from their competition. It’s their EXECUTION of these ideas which makes the true difference.
Far too often creators have an abundance of ideas that are simply just too difficult to implement in a fast moving environment like owning a business. The more unique the idea the more difficult it will be to apply, making it less likely to ever even get off the ground floor. Ideas don’t work unless you do. In order to truly get your ideas off the ground it’s important to keep them as simple as possible (initially).
2. Small “Improvements” often equal more hurdles.
As tempting as it can be to share your Ideas when you think you’ve identified a better way, try to remember small changes can make ideas harder to execute. Don’t get stuck attempting to provide “too much value.” It can be easy to get lost in improving upon ideas without considering how these “improvements” impact execution. Small changes often appear insignificant but have serious limitation when it comes to implementation. They may create budget issues, require more planning and even more time to implement. Am I really arguing against improving upon ideas? Not quite, I’m simply stating to be intentional about when these changes happen. It’s much better to start an Idea that is practical and easy to implement and improve upon it later.
3. Idea Overload creates stagnation.
One of the biggest traps Ideas create is having far too many of them. The gift and the curse of being a visionary is having the ability to not only capture the attention of yourself but others as well. Fun new ideas are usually a welcome diversion from the everyday boring tasks and procedures that are often required to run a successful business. However to make true progress in growing your business you can’t rely on impulse and random bursts of creative ideas. Necessary tasks and procedures are compromised when you are constantly jumping from one big idea to the next. Of course new ideas are important but there is a time and place to explore them. Having too many ideas can kill your progress making it hard to decide which ones deserve your time, focus and resources.
Don’t get lost in Idea Overload, too many ideas is overwhelming which leads to second guessing when progress on an idea isn’t gained right away. Did you choose the right Idea to pursue? Try to focus on one idea until you gain some traction and ease the burden of Idea overload.
4. Don’t be satisfied becoming the “Ideas Guy”
Generating creative ideas are fun, but can give you a false feeling of fulfillment. The “Idea Guy” can generate millions of amazing new business ideas all more exciting and creative than the last. The problem with the idea guy becomes his uncontrollable urge to share these ideas with any and everyone they encounter, in turn making him less likely to ever pursue them.
This is known as “Symbolic self-completion,” simply sharing an idea or goal gives you the feeling as if you’ve already accomplished it. The more intriguing an idea the more compelled you are to share that idea. Resulting in feeling as if the work is already completed. Making it even less likely to be executed. Don’t become the “Idea’s Guy,” make sure to be patient and always take time to Organize, Prioritize and EXECUTE your ideas!
