Where to find great ideas

Posted by Robert Merrill on December 10, 2008 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

To quote Seth Godin (What to do with your ideas for other people),

“Selling ideas is a fundamentally different business than having ideas.”

and

“The quality of ideas is not a factor in whether or not you will be in a position to have a chance to sell those ideas.”

Seth Godin was speaking to the supply side of the idea market. What about the demand side? Where do you find great ideas?

If you wait for ideas to get your attention, the ideas you hear will be those of people and organizations that are good at selling. This is true within your organization as well as with vendors. If you’re lucky, those idea sellers will have teamed up with some idea havers, but even then, the ideas will have been run through the “will it sell” (at a profit) filter.

If you need great ideas, hang out where the great-idea-havers are, or team up with someone who does. If Seth Godin is right, there are some real bargains out there.