“BIG IDEA”: noun: (1) An idea that strikes at the heart of a huge unmet need; (2) An idea that is as simple and as fresh as your first kiss; (3) Alchemy; (4) An idea to which one’s first reaction is often, “Why didn’t I come up with that?”
E.g.: the iPod; Just Do It™; the Live Strong bracelet; Googling.
Another day at work. Today maybe. You’re busy. Meetings. Then, unscheduled, someone walks into your office and starts telling you about an idea that might help your company sell 200,000 pairs of shoes this year. Or that might change the way the elderly pay for prescription drugs. Or eliminate rush hour traffic in L.A.
Now what?
Before you tell this person to put it in an e-mail and copy your assistant, consider this: You’re the CEO. The way you handle the ideas coming from inside your company—from anywhere and anyone at any time—will be the primary measure of its future fortunes.
Does your company know how to create, recognize and execute big-time, game-changing ideas? The kind of ideas that transform brands and companies overnight? Most can’t, most never will. Why? Because simply realizing you’re hearing a big idea when you are is hard. Really hard. And that’s just the beginning of what it takes to bring it to life.
Nevertheless, you’re the CEO, and it’s your job to get the big stuff done. Only when you create the conditions in which big ideas can thrive can you truly create transformative returns for your company, its stakeholders and everyone who uses or depends on its products.
The Three People Behind Every Big IdeaAll big ideas I’ve ever been around have one thing in common: the team. It’s always the same three people. First, the Curious Marketer—a person constantly open to any and all ideas; second, the Fearless CEO, intuitive, decisive and independent; and third, the Relentless Mucker, someone who attacks impossible assignments with focus and conviction. It takes all three to pull it off. In my 20-plus years in sales, marketing and advertising—meeting and working with everyone from Jack Welch to Nelson Mandela—I’ve never seen it done any other way.
The Curious Marketer: Wide Open The truth is most big ideas don’t hit us in the shower. Deep customer insight is the muse for all big ideas, and developing those insights is hard work. Curious Marketers dive into your audience’s world. They’re curious. They want to know. Because knowing everything about the world your audience inhabits reveals their barriers to change, their true desires and how you might motivate them to change their perceptions or behaviors. Having the information—the pieces of the marketing puzzle—is a start. Curious Marketers are constantly connecting them in new and different ways.
These are creative, dramatic thinkers who are able to break out of traditional frameworks and paradigms. Because of that, Curious Marketers are gifted at hatching big ideas. One of them can create more value than 1,000 typical employees. Unfortunately, they are an exceedingly rare breed.
If you find any, free them from political and corporate limitations. Keep them close by your side. Give them unfettered access to you. Don’t let them drink too much of the proverbial “kool aid” and fall hopelessly in love with your products. You want them to keep asking questions. That’s how they come up with answers. They will dream up a big idea. They will change your company. They will make you or it, or both, famous.
The Fearless CEO: Knowing How to Say YesOne of the most dangerous misconceptions about big ideas is that they’re self-evident—that, if presented with one, everyone in the room will be immediately aware of its greatness and get on board. It’s not the case. Even the very biggest of ideas can be dismissed, overlooked, under-funded, screwed up, killed or, worst of all, just plain old allowed to wither and die. The fact is, the bigger the idea, the easier it is to dismiss.
It takes an intuitive, experienced leader to recognize a big idea’s potential and simply say, “Yes.” It sounds easy, but in fact saying no is what’s easy. Saying no is what’s safe. Because big ideas feel risky. They address critical issues in new ways. They’re not always linear, so traditional analysis might not apply. Which means a lot of your own people might not get it. The CEO needs to realize the idea’s potential, trump the naysayers and make the call.
No idea, no matter how transformative, stands a chance without the endorsement of a Fearless CEO. This year, I had the privilege of seeing three of the best in action—all at critical times in the histories of their respective organizations.
William J. Ryan, TD Banknorth In February 2005 we suggested that Bill Ryan, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TD Banknorth, go after the naming rights for Boston’s FleetCenter. But instead of calling it “The TD Banknorth Center,” our idea was to call it “The Garden.” The idea effectively gave Bill the chance to return a beloved landmark to the people of Boston. It was expensive and different, to be sure. To his credit, Bill realized that in a sports-obsessed market like Boston, the idea had huge upside potential. He said yes on the spot.
Joel Hollander, CBS RadioFaced with Howard Stern leaving his company and a considerable revenue shortfall, Joel Hollander, CEO of CBS Radio, asked my agency for an idea. In September 2005 we presented one that had never been done before: a total buyout of every ad in the leading media/advertising industry publication. We would trumpet Joel’s vision for a new radio format on 28 pages of advertising, including both covers, and would unveil to the world the future of terrestrial radio. Joel smiled and said, “I wish I had thought of that.” Despite its bold, nontraditional approach—and a deadline that would make executing the idea excruciating—Joel knew the idea would change the perception of everything his company was doing. It was a go, right then.
Larry Silverstein, Silverstein PropertiesIn September we presented Larry Silverstein, the CEO of Silverstein Properties and redeveloper of the World Trade Center, an unorthodox strategy to announce his first new building at Ground Zero. He stepped out of the boardroom to consider the idea. Five minutes later he returned and agreed to our nontraditional approach, which required three times the budget but had the potential to radically accelerate lease signings. Larry approved the idea not reluctantly, but enthusiastically. It’s the kind of thinking he expects.
In all three cases, we were presenting ideas that had never been done before, would face painfully short time frames and be up against big odds. All three CEOs used their instincts and experience to evaluate the risk/return equation quickly and independently, and they made the right call. The other commonality? Each idea delivered transformative results.
The Relentless MuckerTruth be told, coming up with and getting big ideas approved is the easy part. Steve Jobs, of Apple and more recently iPod fame, uses the mantra, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” I love that. It’s great advice. (Sony should’ve listened sooner.) To it, I humbly add, “Dream it, get it approved and be sure to keep a damn good Mucker around.”
“Mucker” is an old hockey term. It describes a player who gets in the corners and fights like hell for the puck. Muckers are tough. They find a way to get tough jobs done no matter what. If your team can’t execute—if you’ve ever found yourself frustrated while listening to why something reasonable didn’t get done—you don’t have enough Muckers.
Replace your rationale-rich team with Muckers or suffer a never-ending series of compromises setting you squarely on the road to corporate irrelevance. Instead, surround yourself with people who will run through walls to make seemingly impossible things happen. In the long run, everyone will thank you.
Believe I believe in the power of big ideas. Some people might not. Then again, some people don’t get what was so special about John Lennon. Big ideas are the only true form of alchemy—the only way you can start with nothing and end up changing the world. In the world of advertising and marketing, that’s what we live for: ideas that could, that just might, allow people to see and feel and behave in a totally new way overnight. Where else can you find that? What else could possibly matter more?
To be effective, you must realize that even the biggest ideas are vulnerable. You must have a process that eliminates all obstacles standing in the way of developing and deploying big ideas. And you have to have your core three people. Start today. Build a relationship with a Curious Marketer and pay attention. Realize the big idea when you’re hearing or seeing it. If it feels right, trust yourself and fearlessly endorse the idea—despite the choir of seemingly rational reasons as to why it might not work. And always have a team of Muckers. They make it happen.
Above all, never forget that behind every big idea are three people who love to do the impossible. You have to. You have to love the very idea of doing something that’s never been done. And you have to love the idea itself. Whatever it may be. However it may come to you.
Today might be the day someone walks into your office, unannounced, and hands you one.
When they do, be fearless.
— John R. Coleman, CEO and Founder, The VIA Group LLC.
