A while back I wrote a post that argued against focusing on coming up with the next “big thing”. My point was that if you concentrate solely on trying to come up with a cutesy campaign, that you’re going to overlook the simple and little things that actually deliver. However, that’s not to say you need to stop trying to be innovative. I there’s a big misconception that being innovative requires the next “big idea” when, in fact, being innovative often is the result of doing the little things extremely well.

You’ve all heard the saying “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”.  I’m going to go one further and say “there’s no such thing as a stupid idea”. Yes, there are ideas that don’t work, but there is no such thing as an idea being stupid. How many times are you sitting in a meeting and you’re tasked with coming up with “two or three good ideas’? I understand that it would be timely and a waste of time to go over every single idea; however, that’s not to say you should dismiss an idea.

Think of the products and companies that you consider “innovative”. These products and companies didn’t become innovative by dismissing ideas. They became innovative by encouraging ideas and encouraging brainstorming. They became innovative by welcoming change and willing to take risks. They serve the unknown.

I come up with topics for blog posts at odd times. Often times, those ideas are actually that, ideas. Ideas that I may not have enough content to fill an entire post, so I jot the ideas down. I probably have 10-15 ideas that may consist of a paragraph or two or three bullet points. Rather than forgetting or ignoring these ideas, I keep them saved and I’m able to go back and add as thoughts come to me. This spurs innovation. This process ensures that I’m not constricted to thoughts and ideas that are current and top of mind.

How can we become innovative if I’m asking you to stop thinking outside the box? It’s not that I don’t like creative thinking. It’s the idea that all your work and thoughts are focused too much on fame and notoriety. Continue to focus on new and creative processes, but your entire plan shouldn’t be filled with ideas that are “new” or “groundbreaking”.

All to often we’re scared to speak up and go against the status quo. However, with innovation, we’re expected to fail – something most people fear and don’t understand. Innovation doesn’t come by coming up with the next “best thing”, rather it comes from coming up with a unique solution to an already established problem.

So go ahead, run with scissors.