Notes from reading, the majority of which have been paraphrased or rewritten for clarity.
Making Ideas Happen = Ideas + Organization + Communal Forces + Leadership Capability
You can develop the capacity to make ideas happen, even if you think you don’t have it.
The forces that help us to execute ideas are often at odds with the source of our ideas. Accept this.
To bring ideas to fruition, you must become comfortable alternating between ideation and execution.
Creativity + Organization = Impact
The way that you organize projects, manage your energy, and prioritize is possibly more important than the quality of your ideas.
Be excited about the potential of new projects, while at the same time being deeply concerned with how to manage them.
Relentless action pushes ideas forward.
Taking and organizing extensive notes is usually not worth the effort. Focus on capturing actions required for the project instead.
Capture action steps everywhere, relentlessly.
Use appealing, design-centric systems to stay organized.
Organize in the context of projects.
Maintain a backburner and make a ritual of updating it.
Prioritize your projects.
Differentiate between ‘urgent’ and ‘important’ actions. Don’t let urgent matters encroach on time reserved for important matters.
The ‘Project Plateau’ – The place where our ideas become less interesting as we realize the sheer amount of work and implied responsibilities necessary to complete them.
To make it past the plateau, you must develop the capacity to endure, and even thrive, while on it.
The easiest and most seductive escape from the project plateau is the most dangerous: a new idea.
On the project plateau, fear of taking action can easily set in. The key to overcoming fear is to act without conviction.
The cost of waiting for conviction can be very great. Waiting builds apathy and increases the likelihood that another idea will capture our energy. Don’t wait, act without conviction.
Conviction can make it difficult to change course when necessary.
Create an environment that allows premature action. A commitment to early action – without conviction – will help ideas materialize.
Kill ideas liberally. Say ‘no’ more than you say ‘yes’.
End meetings with a review of actions captured.
Execute without remorse.
Relentlessly follow up with others.
Seek constraints – they help us to manage energy and execute ideas. Productivity requires restrictions.
It is your responsibility to seek constraints when they are not given to you.
Progress begets progress – When you see concrete evidence of progress, you are inclined to take further action.
Keep artifacts of completed work around as testaments to progress.
Design is a critical element of productivity.
When you have a project that is tracked with a beautiful chart or elegant sketchbook, you are more likely to focus your attention on it. Use your work space to direct attention to where you need it most.
Work ethic alone can give your ideas the boost that makes all the difference.
Organize your energy and hold yourself accountable with routine.
You must reduce the amount of energy you spend on unnecessary tasks related to your insecurities.
‘Insecurity Work’ is work with no intended outcome that does not move ideas forward, such as checking traffic stats, account balances, e-mail responses etc. Corral this ‘work’ into a specific time of day with established guidelines and rituals for it.
Everyone can benefit from a partner who acts as a foil and complement.
Partnerships are flexible: they can be created on a project basis or for the long haul. They can also be hired.
Share ideas liberally. Don’t be afraid. Great ideas are plentiful but very few people have the discipline and resources to make them happen.
When your ideas are known by many people, they are more likely to be refined and your are more likely to stay focused on them.
Communal forces refine the substance of our ideas, hold us accountable for making them happen, provide material and emotional support, spread the word and push us to go above and beyond our original goals.
Feedback is an asset, a form of nonfinancial compensation. Develop methods for consistently gathering and exchanging it.
Transparency boosts feedback exchange. Let others see what you’re working on.
Create a circle or group for exchange and feedback.
Competition is an extremely valuable motivating force. Seek it out.
Watch and get to know the competitive forces around you. They can display better ways of doing things.
If you want others to take a risk of their own to support your project, you must publicly commit or take on the risk yourself. Only then will you get the full support of your community.
Publicly proclaim your goals and create systems for accountability.
Sharing a workspace, whether it be a coffeeshop or coworking space, fosters focus and professionalism.
Take advantage of mistakes, allow for serendipity.
Accept responsibility for marketing yourself.
Connect with people and be receptive to their perspectives. This can be a challenge when immersed in creative pursuits.
Without some degree of mass appeal, most ideas will falter.
Ask yourself if the average person can understand the value offered in your new idea.
The most challenging person to manage is you.
The greatest barriers we face along the path to bring our ideas to fruition lie within us.
Self-leadership is about awareness, tolerance and not letting your own tendencies limit your potential.
Our best hope for staying on track is to notice when we stray and to figure out why it happened.
Assemble a ‘personal advisory board’ – a few people who can give candid feedback and help you to stay on course.
Develop a greater tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Be patient in the face of it.
Don’t go nuts over the unknown, don’t lose patience when dealing with disappointments.
Work with what you know, identify what you don’t know, and make decisions accordingly.
If you fail, identify external conditions and internal factors that can explain your failure. Then find the gems in the unintended outcome.
Avoid ‘visionary’s narcissism’ – the creative leader’s perception that he or she is the exception to the rule.
At the same time, practice ‘contrarianism’ Purposefully think against the grain and question norms.
You have a responsibility to make your idea sustainable.
For an idea to thrive over time, it must be treated as an enterprise.
Stay engaged with incremental progress. The big win is likely far off in the distance.
Be willing to be a deviant.
We pay a price for postponing action.
Every creator who has successfully made an idea happen has fought an survived a very long war.
Take yourself and your creative pursuits seriously. The importance of your ideas extends beyond your own interests.
You have a responsibility to create something of value.