pregnant with ideas
you see something A really good idea, and then you think:
"Damn, that's exactly what I was talking to someone about (insert time here). I had exactly the same idea. Now someone made it easy.”
Many, really many, feel the same way as you. Most actually had a similar thought.
Primarily because they recognized the same deficiency. An insight. “Surely there should be a better way to do that.” There is still a long way to go between this important and original finding and an idea. And that is difficult. Every meter that brings you closer to birth becomes more difficult. Progress is progressively slower than on the first steps. You have shared your own thoughts umpteen times and always come across more “yesbuts” than “whynots”. It takes a pretty thick skin if you can't be dissuaded. An unborn idea doesn't make you particularly sexy over the entire route either. You get dark circles and worry lines. You ponder and annoy those around you with the same topic over and over again.
Countless ideas never see the light of day. They will be aborted first. But a few make it. And then you hold it in your hands – full of pride. The sweetest, prettiest and most perfect thing you've ever seen. Tears of happiness well up in your eyes. Nobody who has not experienced it themselves can empathize with it. Ok, you are no longer pregnant. The idea is out. And now it's just like in real life. She eats, poops, makes noises and gives you sleepless nights. Because the beauty we see, the rest of the world does not really understand. "Nice idea, but she can't walk at all. And she can't speak either." So it's sanded like crazy. Teach an idea to walk. Fall down, get up, fall down, get up, fall down... Eventually it'll work. If you stay tuned. But as soon as it runs, she primarily does nonsense. And so forth. And then at some point the first people recognize the butterfly that develops from the pupa. Suddenly there is approval and support. A feeling like a warm shower after a long winter walk (no snow, but freezing cold with lots of rain). You have to learn to let go a little now. Trust the right people at the right moment, who can unleash the full potential of the idea with the right decisions.
And then someone says, "Damn, this is exactly what I was talking to someone about (insert time). I had exactly the same idea. Now someone made it easy.” “Easy” you think and smile. You're pregnant again.
But!
There is an obvious flaw. Something that really doesn't work well. So, from today's point of view.
Years, decades ago, the current practice was perhaps still state of the art, but the world and the opportunities around it have developed rapidly. You would do it differently today. Faster, safer, easier, more convenient, more imaginative, more understandable, more intuitive - you name it. Only, you don't do it. Anyone who recognizes this deficiency and has to live with it has certainly had one or two thoughts. And then come to terms with the circumstances again.
Even if the renewal pressure in the boiler is constantly increasing, it usually takes forever for a new solution to emerge. The greatest enemy of renewal is a single word. It regularly initiates decline, crushes tender plants, sows frustration and thus prevents ideas from blossoming. This word means:"but"!
Studies show that people are more concerned about losing something than they are about not gaining something. And since new ideas often replace something that already exists, the fear of loss is a constant companion. And the "but" seems like an emergency stop in the spotlight of the idea. Putting new ideas into a but-world is like lighting a candle under water. Still, some make it through. What's their secret? How do you survive the "but"? Four interesting observations:
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The new idea is not a new idea at all.Of course she is, but she doesn't appear that way. It is the evolution of an existing concept. That should live on. So you can use the old concept "and" the new. It creeps in and becomes the norm. To the new old. So the new idea does not even come into the crosshairs of the but. In this way, one iPhone alternates with the next without much resistance. Move from hand to arm (Applewatch) and onto the table (tablet) and at some point we will see the iPhone become a no-phone - because all the buzzing that we consume on an unwieldy, neck-straining look-down device also goes straight into glasses could project. Now, before someone shouts "but": calm down, it's not that far yet.
Learning: new ideas have it much easier, when they show up in an old package and don't renew everything that exists at once, but just as much as possible. Apple's first iPhone came as a communication tablet computer organizer and was called the Newton by the way. He had brilliant innovations and never had a real chance. Too much "but".
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The cauldron explodes. OK. When existing concepts fail under new conditions, a remedy is needed. Immediately. The rare case where basic "but" doesn't work. Because the idea has no alternative.
When the door and gate are open, there are new hurdles: the idea is so obviously intentional that umpteen variants are storming in from all directions at once. The key here is speed. Before anyone can weigh which is best ("but"), it must be in use. The first two have it much easier than all those that follow.
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The new idea creates a new market. In this case, there are no directly competing concepts.
And no one who would defend them. It is important to recognize whether, under certain circumstances, the market itself is the central idea and not the application that led to its discovery. A powerful weapon against the "but" (here mostly disguised as a friendly "ja, aber" (yesbut)) is the "whynot".
There's just little to lose.
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The new idea is super exclusive. Welcome to the lifestyle. The benefit is defined by the belief in the effect on oneself or others. Above all, the idea must inspire and unleash enormous desire. This can only be achieved with the storytelling power of very clever marketing. Whether the object draws its desire from its rarity, polarization, difficult accessibility or, for example, a high price: the story makes the difference. Anyone who says "but" is out.
It's basically a marketing idea. Incidentally, this applies to rare jewellery, watches, perfume, some art or brand crossovers as well as to homeopathic globules.