By Mike Myatt, Chief StrategyOfficer, N2growth



I had a long conversation today with a client discussingcreativity, ideas, innovation, branding and the like. As a resultof our conversation, I decided to dust-off an old post, give it afew updates, and pass along my thoughts, which can be bestsummarized as "Ideas Don't EqualInnovation." It is my hope to help dispelthe myth that ideas are inherently good things. Let me state rightfrom the outset that I place little value on ideas. Not onlydo raw ideas have little intrinsic value, but they are often verycostly. While I stipulate to the fact that ideas can sometimes leadto great things, I also submit that it is more frequently the casethat ideas lead to disappointment, and even outright disaster.Those of you familiar with my work are probably wondering if it isreally me authoring this text...if you're baffled at how achampion of innovation can simultaneously be an idea-basher, I urgeyou to read on, and I promise the congruity will become apparent. Iwant to start by actually defining what an idea is, and is not.Ideas in and of themselves do not constitute a philosophy,principle, or strategy. An idea is not synonymous with acompetitive advantage, an idea is not necessarily a sign ofcreativity, an idea does not constitute innovation, and asmuch as some people wish it was so, an idea is certainly not abusiness. To the chagrin of many reading this post, ideas in and ofthemselves are nothing more than unrefined, random thoughts. Ideason their own accord are really quite useless. The truth can oftentimes be harsh and difficult to hear, but it is nonetheless thetruth. Ideas are a dime a dozen...take a moment and reflect onall the ideas you've spawned over the years, or the many ideas thathave been birthed by your friends, family, and professionalassociates and you'll quickly see that most of them never gotlift-off. The problem is that most ideas never getimplemented, and moreover even the best ideas when improperlyimplemented can cause great harm. You see, while creativity is aclearly a valuable asset, unbridled creativity where random,disparate ideas abound outside of a sound decisioning and executionframework will create distraction and chaos much more often thanthey will lead to innovation. In fact, it is mostoften the organizations that demonstrate a "heard mentality"when rushing to adopt the latest ideas that are the farthestthing away from being innovative. The net result of being a latestage trend follower is that you will likely experience littlemore than yet another in a long line of great adventures that endedin frustration due to the time wasted and the investmentsquandered. The reality is that many businesses are quick torecognize great ideas, but they often have no plan for how tosuccessfully integrate them into their business model. My advice toyou is not to let your business get caught up in embracing randomideas At least not without some initial analysis being conducted todetermine the likelihood of success. Failed initiatives are costlyat several levels. Aside from being costly, a flawed execution cancast doubt on management credibility, have a negative impact onmorale, taint the brand, adversely affect external relationships,and cause a variety of other problems for your business. Everysound business initiative begins with a solid strategic plan.However while most anyone can cobble together a high levelstrategic plan, very few can author a strategy that can besuccessfully implemented. In order for your enterprise to turn anidea into a monetizing and/or value creating event you shoulddevelop a strategic plan that attempts to measure the idea againstthe following 15 elements: 1. The idea should be generatedwithin a solid framework for decisioning. It should be developed asa solution to a problem or to exploit an opportunity. The ideashould be in alignment with the overall vision and mission of theenterprise. 2. If the idea doesn't provide a uniquecompetitive advantage it should at least bring you closer to aneven playing field. 3. Any new idea should preferably addvalue to existing initiatives, and if not, it should show asignificant enough return on investment to justify the dilutiveeffect of not keeping the main thing the main thing. 4. Putthe idea through a risk/reward and cost/benefit analysis.5. Whether the new idea is intended for yourorganization, vendors, suppliers, partners or customers it musteasy to use. Usability drives adoptability, and therefore it paysto keep things simple. 6. Just because an idea sounds gooddoesn't mean it is You should endeavor to validate proof of conceptbased upon detailed, credible research. 7. Nothing is withoutrisk, and when you think something is without risk, that is whenyou're most likely to end-up in trouble. All initiativessurrounding new ideas should include detailed risk managementprovisions. 8. Adopting a new idea should be based upon solidbusiness logic that drives corresponding financial engineering andmodeling. Be careful of high level, pie-in-the-sky projections.9. Any new ideas should contain accountabilityprovisions. Every task should be assigned and managed according toa plan and in the light of day. 10. Any new ideas beingadopted must lead to measurable objectives. Deliverables,benchmarks, deadlines, and success metrics must be incorporatedinto the plan. 11. It must be detailed and deliverable on aschedule. The initiative should have a beginning, middle and end.12. Ideas need to be incorporated into strategicinitiatives and not constitute disparate systems. They shouldbe incorporated into integrated solutions that eliminateredundancies, and build in tactical leverage points. 13. Ideasshould contain a road-map for versioning and evolution that isin alignment with other strategic initiatives and the overallcorporate mission. 14. A successful idea cannot remain in astrategic planning state. It must be actionable through tacticalimplementation. 15. Senior leadership must champion any newidea being adopted. If someone at the C-suite level is against thenew idea, it will likely die on the cutting-room floor. Thebottom line is that new ideas are beautiful things whenthey become solutions or lead to opportunities. Properlyimplemented, capitalizing on process driven creativitycan keep business from stagnating and cause growth andevolution. Just follow the 15 rules above and avoid beingthe misguided change agent for solely for the sake ofchange.