Ideas are ‘a dime a dozen’ says the old quote. And it’s true. Unless and until an idea gets implemented, it has no effect. It’s like gold that you didn’t know you had.
Only when an idea is executed can you expect to receive its benefits. There is a caveat though. Ideas can also bring unwelcome effects. Perhaps that is one explanation why many good ideas remain ideas. We are afraid of the bad effects if we implement an idea.
Some ideas have little negative effect. Put your money in the bank so it will earn interest. There is very little danger in there.
Other ideas have potential negative effects. Put your money in the stock market so it will gain value, or at least negate the effects of inflation. But wait: you might also lose some or all of your money.
Ideas have an aim. The idea to look left and right before you cross the street has the aim of keeping you safe when you cross the street.
Ideas are propositions about how things can be better. The proposition of looking left and right before crossing is that by doing so, you will notice if there are vehicles approaching.
Ideas have a cost to implement. Some ideas are easier to implement than others. Look left and right before you cross is one of those that is easy to implement and cost nothing. That is why all of us do it.
The idea of backing up your work frequently has the aim of ensuring you have a copy in case something goes wrong with your computer. The cost of doing so is more than the cost of looking before you cross. That is why we have to be prodded to do it.
Ideas have an effectiveness. Some ideas work better than others. Looking left and right before you cross has a very good effectiveness. It always works. The idea of creating a project schedule has the aim (among others) of controlling the project’s delivery timeframes. It doesn’t always work.
To sum up, ideas have characteristics set them apart from other ideas:
- The aim
- The proposition
- The cost to execute
- The effectiveness
Is there a better idea than looking left and right before crossing the street? How about listening before crossing? It has the same aim: to keep you safe. It has the proposition that you can hear if a vehicle is coming. The cost to execute is comparable to looking. The effectiveness is not so good. We are not as good at judging the velocity of vehicles by their sound.
No comments:
Post a Comment