The Right Kind of Ideas
No great idea has universal agreement.
The point and purpose of an idea is not so that everyone will agree with your thinking. Disagreement and debate make the world go around. If an idea is engaging, it will cause discussion, debate, and possibly dissension. And that’s okay. It’s not something we should be afraid of.
I was having a face-to-face coffee this week with someone who might be a potential client. We were in the coffeehouse having a lively an important discussion. There was no one else in the entire place.
Maybe it was the time of day?
But the reality I see is that most coffee houses are filled with people alone with their laptop (or having loud and obnoxious telephone conversations.) Our debate, dialog, and dissension is long-form on Facebook and in 280 characters on Twitter. We don’t converse in public. We don’t test our ideas in this way.
A great idea should be tested.\ A great idea should be dissected.\ A great idea should have the capability to stand up to poking and prodding and real-life interaction.
Because the idea of an idea is interaction.
Every book, article, and podcast, every piece of content we create should have ideas worth discussing. Ideas that not everyone will agree with. Ideas that might provoke deeper thinking. Ideas that solve interesting problems and take use to new frontiers.