How much is your idea worth? It depends...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here. 

First of all, I should point out my career has involved working in a cutting edge industry where the work was fun and challenging; offered me the advantages of travel, expense accounts, bonuses and stock options - Great times, invaluable experience, and a body of work to be proud of. I don't do that anymore... I'm now involved, more and more, with people who have an idea and are passionate about bringing to life. It's a wonderful opportunity I have been afforded...

I was at a networking event recently, which brought entrepreneurs and seed investors together for mentoring and guidance. It was there, I met someone who could be considered a "poster child" for the modern entrepreneur - His new economy "Uber-esk" idea, a very slick website, and an air of confidence that you could not help but like... did I mention he was still in his third year of university? That same week, I also met a person who was being creative with expanding the business, another who was wrestling with how to manage through a current cash flow problem, and then ended the week having dinner with two close friends*. 

In our conversations, we discussed our business ideas, our visions for the future, the challenges, and what we were doing; with excitement in the possibilities. We were creating value and worth with our ideas; the revenue we expected to generate or the valuation of these ideas with our favorite seed investors. It was here, that I realized the worth of an idea was much more than just monetary. And how valuable ideas really are - 

• Ideas feed your life goals - We all should have life goals, and as they say, "they should be BIG, so you can grow into them". Ideas are the birthplace for meeting those goals.
• Ideas drive accomplishment - "I have an idea, why don't we do this..." (or some other iteration), sets activities in motion, and this is how accomplishment happens.
• Ideas feed knowledge - more often than not, an idea will lead to something that you have not done before; simply said, "you will have to learn how to do it".
• Ideas feed your well-being - Ideas, by their very nature develop creativity, accomplishment and success. All good feelings.
• Ideas are self perpetuating - Ideas beget ideas, particularly if they are shared... "That's a great idea and that makes me think of this idea... we could probably try this... that gives me an idea..."
• Ideas are the birthplace for solving problems - If you want to solve a problem, the largest list of ideas you can come up with will hold the answer.

Ideas are curious little things though... it's not what they are, but what you do with them, that defines their worth. Three options come to mind -

• You bring your idea to life - this is simply where you dedicate your energy and emotion to your idea; then work very, very hard to make it a reality. It's fair to say the more complex the idea, the more of a roller coaster ride it will be - Don't forget to enjoy the ride.
• Give your idea away to someone who will make it a reality - if you have decided not to make your idea a reality, let someone else do it. What is served by holding onto it?
• Holding on to an idea and doing nothing - There is no advantage to holding onto an idea and doing nothing with it - It's even worse when you say you are going to make your idea a reality and never make the attempt. 

The worth and value of an idea is in its execution... the shame of an idea, is not attempting to execute on it at all.

gpe 

* Dinner with Big D and The Duke was a good time and I wish them great success with their ideas.

The problem statement... a solution to a runaway meeting.

A meeting can be defined as a gathering of two or more people that has been convened for the purpose of achieving a common goal such as sharing information, reaching agreement, etc.* - With that said, meetings are one of those business topics that are easy fodder for opinion, which more often than not, isn't flattering.

Dave Barry, the Pulitzer-Prize winning humorist said, "Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot actually masturbate". I myself can still remember a meeting where a team, after 45 minutes, had still not come up with a name for themselves, I truly don't know if they ever did, as I just left to go do something more productive... see how easy it is to take shots. It is not my intention to spend any time on the "six easy steps for a more effective meeting", as the Internet can serve you very well that way. I did however, want to spend a minute or two on how the "Problem Statement" can be used to effectively stop a runaway meeting. 

A while back, I found myself in a "we have to fix this meeting"... six or seven people around the table brainstorming and as you may appreciate, it was a free for all with conversation from every direction. About ten minutes into the meeting, a very wise financial leader asked a very simple question that brought the meeting to a very abrupt and silent halt.

"What is the problem statement we are trying to solve for?"

It was very apparent we really did not know what we were there to discuss, let alone solve for. After about five or so minutes of reflective comments and open thoughts, we rallied around a half-baked problem and finished the meeting. I actually don't know if we had another meeting on the subject, but then again, I may have blacked it out.

As a quick definition, a problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem*. Asking what the "problem statement is" comes in handy as a galvanizing question in meetings when the objective is to solve a problem - It is also useful to sort out meetings that don't seem to have an objective.

This brings me to another point... all meetings should have articulated objectives:

• A meeting to share information.
• A meeting to plan (includes meeting to take advantage of an opportunity).
• A meeting to solve a problem.
• A meeting to reach agreement and manage next steps.

In my opinion every meeting should begin with the meeting's objective and the problem statement that the meeting is trying to solve for. But again, everyone has opinions on meetings.

gpe

* definitions are from Wikipedia

Dealing Blackjack... an analogy in team development.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here

I am a director on the board of a fledgling charity for the disabled*, and as with most small organizations, operating funds are always in short supply; having said that, I found myself dealing Blackjack at a games night fundraiser. By the end of the night we had raised some money, had some fun with friends and neighbors, and I saw a wonderful analogy in team development - This still resonates and I wanted to share.

For those of you who are not familiar with Blackjack (or twenty-one), it is a card game that involves getting closest to 21 without going over, where numbered cards are taken at face value, face cards are worth ten and the ace is worth one or eleven. A natural Blackjack is when you get 21 with two cards (an ace and a ten). There are various "house rules" that come with the game but ultimately a person is betting that they will get closer to 21 than the dealer and win their bet. Although all players are playing independently against the dealer, the cards they decide to draw (or do not draw), can impact the other players at the table.

As you can appreciate, most people came to have fun and support the charity, so many of the people who were playing at my table had not played cards before or if they were familiar with Blackjack, they really didn't understand the strategies needed to win. At the best of times the odds are stacked in the house's favor, so they were losing but having fun. And then Mike sat down.

Mike knew all about the game of Blackjack, its strategies, how to play the odds...when to draw a card and when to hold; he was just there to have fun. As he began to play he would openly say what he was doing, why he was doing it and suggested to others how they may want to play - He knew it was it was the dealer against them. As the night progressed, we continued to have great fun and I could see the other players using the techniques Mike was suggesting. Their confidence in how to play the game increased, as well as the number of times they were winning; the energy attracted others to play. In the end, Mike won, but everyone was better for it. 

Although it may be considered a stretch to call the people at the table a team, I think that with a little artistic license, it can be said that they all had a common goal to beat me and in this specific situation, there was a sharing of information, knowledge and influence to deal with that common goal - With this said, my time dealing Blackjack reminded me of this:

• All teams need common goals and clearly articulated expectations; including how success is defined.
• Build your team with individuals who are "superstars"** and "potential superstars" (as they are the future).
• Look to your "superstars" (like Mike) to set an example for the skills needed, the attitude required and how success is defined. This will help develop your "potential superstars". 
• Expect those up and coming superstars to learn, develop, emulate and exercise their abilities. 
• At any given time, some will win more than others, but their success should not be "built on the backs" of those on the team. Appropriate recognition of success is key.
• Celebrate your successes against your common goals.
• Team membership is forever changing (and should be in my opinion). Ensure you have a solid pipeline of potential new members. This will perpetuate long term success.

If truth be told, I also started dealing a little bit better when Mike showed up - A Superstar raises everyone's game.

gpe

* Connect4Life.  www.connect4life.ca 

** Superstar (or Rockstar) is a term often used in a business setting to describe a person who is considered very successful at what they do; they possess qualities people want and should be emulated. Common used among a sales team to describe over plan achievers.