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Adequate ideas don’t travel far
I don’t know about you, but put me in a room with a bunch of talented, funny, quirky people and ask me to come up with an idea, and there’s a good chance I won’t. They might, and even I might, and occasionally even I am amazed at what I can come up with, but more often than not, I draw a blank. Or worse, I come up with something that carries the dreaded tag – adequate.
Adequate doesn’t cut it with my clients, because adequate ideas don’t travel far. They might create a flash in the pan on social media, in the press or on an email, but they won’t start and sustain a conversation with my client’s prospects.
As you may have guessed, I am not a fan of brainstorms. Call me a prima donna. I don’t care. I only care about the idea and, over the years, Fieldworks has had some great ones – ones that have lasted over 18 months, which is impressive considering the world has already changed in the time it’s taken you to read this blog.
Which all begs the question, where do good ideas come from? Google will give you all the answer, which is when you least expect them. In the shower; on a run; in bed at 3.30am; on a train; and so on. Common to almost all these is the idea of motion.
Ideas come from movement – either actual movement, or movement that has come from thinking over time.
And that last one is often forgotten. As long as you start the process by setting yourself the task, the idea will come. It’s just that it will come when it comes, which does not always help when your colleagues are looking at you during a brainstorm thinking ‘he may finally have lost the plot!’
So remember, time is the enemy. Feel the pressure but don’t give in. Plant the seed as early as possible so you can put some space between the thought and the deadline. And ideas will come.
Obviously, it helps to be smart, sentimental, silly and impatient like me. But I also celebrate all the things I am not and which I value in my colleagues. Together we have great ideas, but more often than not that means working apart.
