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Ideas are the lifeblood of your work. When they're flowing, all is well. When they're not, all is... well...

This week, three tips on idea generation and curation.

One to help you be brave.

One to help you focus.

One to help you be brilliant.

Brave: Obvious To You

Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, once wrote:

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Do you ever feel that way? Like all your ideas are just too easy, too obvious?

I’ll bet you do. I do too.
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Over time, I've learned that what’s obvious to me isn’t always obvious to others. We all have different life experiences, ambitions, and perspectives. Because of that, any solutions I’ve been working on for a while are going to feel vaguely familiar even though they might seem totally revolutionary to others.
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As you go about your work, be mindful not to dismiss an idea simply because it feels too obvious at first. It may be obvious to you but not to others.
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Brilliance often feels commonplace at first.
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Everyone’s ideas seem obvious to them. But they can be revolutionary to someone else.

Have you ever dismissed an idea because it felt too obvious?

Focused: Think Present Problems, Not Past Failures

A senior manager once told me his frustration: his organization was stuck in the past. His ideas were dismissed because they had failed… three decades ago!

This company clung to a thirty-year-old failure. But sometimes, failures are about timing, not the idea itself.

Revisiting past failures can be enlightening. A brilliant idea introduced at the wrong time can fail. Introduced a few years later, it's a success.

Consider past failures and assumptions still affecting your work today. Timing can be everything.

Reassess. Innovate.

The past holds lessons, but it shouldn't be a prison. Your next big success might just be an old idea whose time has finally come.

Have past failures prevented you from exploring an idea?

Brilliant: Seasons, Not Snapshots

Creativity is rhythmic. There are highs and lows. You can’t treat your creative process or your team’s like a machine. Machines give predictable results, but no more.

Don't focus on snapshots. Instead, measure effectiveness in intervals. What matters is how things are trending.

Are you gaining more energy for your work over time, or is your energy waning?

Are you consistently having ideas when you need them, or is it becoming more of a challenge?

Do you feel more focused, or less so?

Are you delivering on your expectations more consistently, or less frequently?

Focusing only on here and now won't show where you came from or where you’re headed.

Are you measuring effectiveness in seasons, or snapshots?

This Week:

• Embrace an "obvious" idea.
• Re-visit a past failure to see if it was just timing.
• Consider how you're measuring success - seasons, or snapshots?

And, finally:

If you enjoyed this newsletter, my new book The Brave Habit is a practical guide to making brave decisions every day in your work. I hope you’ll read it. (You can download a few sample chapters here.)

Your turn to lead:

Do you know someone who might find this email helpful? Please forward it to them.

​ Todd Henry teaches leaders and teams how to be brave, focused, and brilliant. He is the author of seven books, and speaks internationally on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. ​TODDHENRY.COM​ ​​

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