We do not just make our clients condition better. We build toward the Best Condition possible in order to maximize their best outcomes. That is our only goal in business. But to that end it’s important to be able to provide the necessary context, reasoned analysis and understanding in order achieve truly remarkable outcomes. This is why we Coach, consult, write and give speeches and presentations all over the country about the need for the best perspective.
Ideas are good. With them you can do amazing things. Without them, you cannot. However, it’s not about just having ideas – anyone can do that. It’s about having the right ideas, at the right time, with the right resources available to you, achieved using the proper context, in order to be able to truly leverage those right ideas into growth and long-term success.
Now we make no bones about it, we think some ideas are better than others. Most downright stink and some really are brilliant (even though we think that word is overused just for the sake of polite conversation) and some are simply “ok”.
Does everyone have the ability to contribute? Of course. Do they do so in a more intelligent and meaningful way? Not always and in fact, I would argue that, given the growth of social media (where everyone is an expert) this is becoming an even rarer occurrence. Which is why it is imperative that you begin to think deeper and on a more complex and sophisticated level about the issues you face in your business. Nothing in our business is that simple that it doesn’t require critical thinking. Superficial thinking will give you a mediocre business or worse.
Is it possible to overthink issues? Absolutely, but that’s where experience comes in and helps provide context.
The best ideas and perspective come from those who have practical experience in successfully doing what it is you want to do. Otherwise it’s only theory or worse.
Most managers today calibrate their thinking more toward diagnosis: for help in coming to terms with the problems that keep their businesses from being more successful – right now.
Leaders, on the other hand, seem more interested in prognosis; the future trend–gazing that makes people much better strategists.
We look to balance both.
In the end, a really good business idea has five key qualities.
It is timely: It addresses, in a new, compelling way, an issue that is important to people right now. (social media, IPO’s, millennials, etc…)
It has explanatory power: It reveals the hidden patterns and interrelationships that shape the phenomena we see, and that other theories or disciplines have not fully explained.
It has pragmatic value: It can be put into practice to produce replicatable results. (Even relatively “soft” concepts like organizational learning have a nuts-and-bolts edge, helping to build human capabilities.)
It has a robust empirical foundation: It can be tested with real-world experience, and ideally with measurable data, and can survive theoretical challenge.
It has a natural constituency: A group of key people are ready to be a part of it.
