“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration,” or so Thomas Edison claimed. A chilling thought and one that forces us to question how do we actually make ideas happen? To make an idea happen we obviously need ideas (thank you, creative people of the world), but as Edison noted having the idea is only 1% of the process. To make our ideas a reality, we also need good organization and execution skills, a strong and encouraging leadership capability, and most importantly and often overlooked, the communal forces of those within our industry or area of interest. But what does that community look like and how can we begin to utilize those within our own communities in order to make our ideas happen?
Plywood Presents: Making Ideas Happen kicked it off the morning with a talk from Scott Belsky, the founder of the Behance Network and bestselling author of the book Making Ideas Happen, to address such questions and fears. It seemed only appropriate that the first topic of discussion for today was the power of communal forces in the idea process, seeing that today is a day focused on bringing people together and the ideas we can create communally. As Scott pointed out, accountability and community are essential to the way we create ideas, how we act on those ideas, and how we bring our ideas to fruition.
Scott insisted that we begin utilizing our community by sharing our ideas literally and openly with those either in our company, field, or area of interests. A scary thought for most creatives, yet sharing our ideas typically is the first step to moving our ideas out of our heads and into action. This community can look something similar to a writer’s group, with people meeting weekly or monthly to share their latest projects and encourage one another in their next ventures. Or this could look like a blog or other form of social media through which one shares ideas and gains feedback from those who share similar interests and expertise. Or it could be a group of friends or colleagues who regularly discuss their ideas and ways to improve them. But whatever shape this community looks like, it ensures that our ideas get the encouragement, feedback, and accountability that is often lacking when we act the lone ranger and try to pursue our ideas solely (and often helplessly) on our own.
A typical stumbling block for creatives is the fear that by sharing ideas and including others in the process of making those ideas happen that others will either copy or gain ownership of the idea in ways we hadn’t intended. Yet as any successfully creative will tell you, they wouldn’t be where they are today if it wasn’t for others behind the scenes with whom they not only shared their ideas, but on whom they trusted to challenge, improve, and eventually execute those ideas. All dreamers need doers to keep them on track and to keep them grounded to things like budgets, time tables, and calendars. Again, scary terms for many creatives, yet necessary to the process and ultimately necessary to all idea formation and completion.
When we don’t share our ideas with others we lose out on their input, their encouragement, and their own creativity and thus we often limit ourselves to half-baked ideas and uncompleted projects. As we continue the day exploring ways to translate our ideas into actions, it’s seems inevitable that we will continue to discuss the ways in which our communities shape and form our ability to make ideas happen. Stay tuned for more updates from our discussions from today, or check out Scott Belsky’s book Making Ideas Happen to learn about more ways to engage your community and make your ideas a successful reality.
Photos curtesy of Anne Curtis and Above the Grey
