Idea management, in my view, is the deliberate process of recognizing that you have ideas, and also the will to take them further. I think that out of a bunch of ideas might come something that could be beneficial for someone else, or even for me. By treating this as a process, and dealing with ideas accordingly, I think more ideas will come “into play”, i.e. be transformed into solutions.
Of course, some ideas may stand out as “better” than others on the ideation stage (my Driveway), while some may stand taller being worked with (my Garage), and some may just slip through to the final stage (my Garage sale) without making lots of noise. However, giving the ideas the same attention (The Idea Garage Process) might raise the possibilities of both early and late bloomers. It is always hard to spot the winners on the market before the solution do hit the market…
Also, it is important to turn the thinking into actions once and a while since it is then that you realize, and reflect upon a lot of things.
Confucius (Chinese philosopher & reformer, 551 BC – 479 BC) said:
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
…and was he right or was he right! You learn by doing!
Also, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 – 1969, A speech to the National Defence
Executive Reserve Conference in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 1957) once said that “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”.
He had realized that although you do not always follow your plans, it is important to plan (or practice, train) in order to be prepared for the unexpected.
We do live in the “knowledge era” and Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790, US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer) also coined an interesting phrase:
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.“
People claim that we live in the fastest era ever, still, the quotes above do carry some wisdom relevant also today.
January 14, 2008 at 10:46 am |
Interesting commentary on Idea Management. Collecting ideas without intent to implement is a pure exercise in creativity. Idea Management definitely implies an end-to-end process with implementation and feedback at the end.
For disclosure, I have been working in the area for about 10 years. My background is in enterprise idea management – working with firms like Pfizer, IBM, HP, Kraft, etc. I have published a lot of research on the topic – and many sub-topics within Idea Management. There is more info at my company’s web site, Imaginatik, and some of my more controversial views on my own blog, InnovationBBL.
Mark Turrell
CEO, Imaginatik plc
January 14, 2008 at 10:56 am |
Hi Mark!
As I said in the post: “…is the deliberate process of recognizing that you have ideas, and also the will to take them further…”, so the idea is to take ideas further. Still, it is important to realize that the “productification” of ideas is strongly related to the context and knowledge of the person who’s dealing with the ideas. A mechanical engineer with a great deal of knowledge in gearboxes is likely to solve a torque transfer need with a mechanical gearbox, while someone with skills in sensors and electronics realizes the same need with sensor and motor.
Further, the “idea business” I deal with in my everyday life as a Professor in product development is strongly focused on the ideation and development of new concepts in manufacturing industries (B2B) and I guess that’s the domain where a lot of my ideas in this blog will end up.
I’ll go through your blog, looks interesting, I’m well aware of Imaginatik and will perhaps touch base with you on this topic.
/Tobias