Have you ever wondered why intelligent people talk about ideas? If you think that the smartest people wouldn’t need to tell others about their great ideas then you are dead wrong! In fact some of the greatest ideas today are as a result of intelligent people expressing their ideas with others. I know the thought may be daunting considering the theft of winning ideas you hear about – however the advantages may just be enough to take the chance.
Here’s why intelligent people talk about ideas:
A customer always knows best
The end result of a great idea is always to please the end user. Whether you are working on a new solution to solve a business problem or an entrepreneur developing the next Ipad – the end user always knows best. Intelligent people talk about ideas for this very reason. Expressing your ideas to the end user accomplishes two main things: 1) it identifies if their is value for your ideas i.e. do people need or want it and 2) if allows you to better refine your product to satisfy the customer. This is why all great companies utilize methods like A/B testing which effectively help them gauge how different variations of an idea appeal to the customer.
It will allow you to gain an unbiased viewpoint
Every person who comes up with an idea thinks it is a winner. It’s like the IKEA effect – a term characterized by the higher sense of value for products people partly build themselves. For e.g. you probably felt a greater appreciation for that table you assembled yourself than the prebuilt one you bought. This is because your own blood, sweat and tears went into building the latter which contributed to your biased viewpoint. Therefore one of the main reasons intelligent people talk about ideas is to get an unbiased perspective.
Different people bring different skill-sets to the table
You have probably heard the saying that two heads are better than one. There is a lot of truth to this and probably the reason why companies value work done in diverse teams. Different people have different skill-sets and abilities that help improve ideas. If you have been through a psychometric assessments you have probably heard about the DISC assessment which is used to gauge the competencies of people. This is so that a company can determine how well and in what positions a person is likely to fit into. This is why great startups tend to have individuals with the different traits (conscientiousness, steadiness,dominance, influence). These different personality types help drive an idea forward by giving diverse perspectives.
To save time
Intelligent people share their ideas because it saves time. People generate millions of ideas daily, however only a few actually get implemented. The probability of you coming up with something completely undiscovered is slim. Therefore talking about your ideas with experts that have done similar work can save you time. You can learn from the mistakes of others or use already created concepts to improve on your own. This is how huge companies like Snapchat improve their business. Did you know that Snapchat acquired the lens technology for their business. This has now become a major part of their social media platform. Find out how you can leverage other ideas to improve your own – by talking about your next big discovery.
To get buy-in
The last on the list of why intelligent people talk about ideas is to get buy-in. Intelligent people understand that a project or idea isn’t going to move forward without technical or financial support. Therefore they are likely to share their ideas with angel investors to either secure capital or get experience and resources for growing an idea. Just watch the show Dragons Den and see what I mean.
To learn how to fully achieve success in all facets of your life, read: Applying A Growth Mindset To Achieve Success
