Many of the great things that are created start with a hunch; a thought, idea, or feeling that something might be good. Often, we let ideas pass, for not being feasible or worth it. But every now and then, one comes along that captures your imagination:
· You chew on it,
· Talk to others about it,
· Get people excited about it,
· Formally organize your plans,
· And let it start to come together and gel.
Many good ideas are born of necessity: the applicant tracking and paperless systems I had a hand in developing were like that. So, I was motivated. Did my homework. Had a good story and measurable ROI. Got some talented people involved. And got input from all of the stakeholders. The driving principles of those projects were that they had to eliminate back office transactional time, make the owners of information responsible for entering their data directly into systems via facsimiles of the original forms that were mapped into the databases, and holding those owners accountable for its accuracy. Their payoff: complete control of and access to their data, 24/7. Managers and line employees. Took 15 years, incrementally, from hunch to finish. You probably have people working for you that have hunches that might be just as good. Does your culture and style allow for and nurture that? Are you willing to let people follow their hunches? You should be: those are the surest ways to foster the creativity that leads to great things today.
Frank Capra (1897 – 1991): Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 40s.
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