Many things set highly successful people apart,
but the one I want to talk about here is
where they get their good ideas.

Short answer: everywhere and from anyone!

One of the most critical factors in creating
big success is Imagination.

What if the thing that will create your biggest success is something you haven’t thought of yet?

What if the best solution to the problem you are
working on is something you are not likely to think of?

How will you think of it?

Highly successful people are always ready to learn from anyone.

They seek out good ideas everywhere, all the time, and when they find one it doesn’t matter if it comes from a highly paid consultant, a board member, or the person that comes in to clean up the catering after lunch.

They recognize good ideas, they adopt them, and they thank people for them.

This generosity, appreciation and acknowledgment makes people want to help them.

So, they have a bigger and much steadier source of good ideas than people who either don’t think they can learn from others, or refuse to acknowledge when they do.

I have worked with many people whose ego prevents them from every saying, “Wow, that’s a good idea, I never thought of that, thank you”.  These are not the people whose careers are soaring.

How are you building your pipeline of good ideas?

Here are some things you can do:

1. Create a habit of talking to people before you get to the end of the process of what you are doing, or before you feel like know all the answers.
2. Start conversations assuming you know LESS than the other person. Even if you are certain that you know more, take some time to listen anyway.
3. Catch yourself from saying, “We tried that already” or “We already thought of that” – that shuts off the flow.  Instead ask, “In that case, how would you deal with this complication?”
4. Talk to people you don’t ordinarily talk to.  Ask them them what they think about – you’ll be surprised how many new ideas this will generate.
5. Ask around for people who do similar work and seek out best practices – this is a great way to ask for help without looking like you don’t know what you are doing!
6. Specifically seek out people who think very differently from you and meet with them regularly to discuss your work, your plans and your goals.

My most inspiring successes have almost all started from the ideas and encouragement of others.

They were things that were not in my imagination before someone else helped put them there.

It doesn’t matter where a good idea comes from.  Just be sure to put yourself in the stream and recognize them when they come along!

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One of the many reasons that we tend to resist connecting with people is the fear that we don’t have time for the “relationship”.

There are two really important considerations here:

1) A connection typically doesn’t turn into a time sink – others are busy too
2) Having “weak connections” is very valuable.
What is a weak connection?

We all have key relationships where the whole point is to spend time with the person  because we enjoy and value that.  These are strong connections.

You tell them about your life and you want to hear about theirs.  You do things together. You know each other very well.  The fact that this takes time is a good thing.

Weak connections on the other hand, are with people you know, and at one time had an authentic reason to connect with — your weak connections are still personal connections.

They are not just a stack of business cards of people you don’t really know at all – I don’t believe this type of “contact” adds value to your network, and it is not authentic.

These weak connections are with people you would genuinely like to stay in touch with, but you don’t regularly have a specific reason to contact them.

How much time does it take?

You can establish or maintain a weak connection about once a year with a brief phone call or email.  In techy terms we call this a “ping”.  A ping is a test of a network connection, without sending any real data.

“I thought of you the other day, and thought I would say hello. Things are going well for me and my family. Still at my same company, but I started a new job as a regional director, which I am enjoying.  Hope you are well.”

Use your own style of course, but the point is to realize that it doesn’t take a lot of “data”.

Weak connections are about keeping the connection fresh, not keeping all of the details of the relationship current.

(I am here, you are there.  I thought enough about you to acknowledge our connection.)

Find some method or process or trigger to keep yourself doing this.  Think about spending maybe a half an hour a month, and making this kind of brief connection, “ping”, with 10-30 people. That is a lot of network refreshing without a big time commitment.

You will also find that people are glad to hear from you!

Network when you don’t need anything!

Keeping connections fresh is more about giving than taking.  You are giving someone attention, and you are not asking for anything.  It is a pleasant contact for them.

If you don’t do this, it is very uncomfortable when you need to reach out to people that you have not communicated with AT ALL in 5 years and “suddenly” ask them for something.

But if you have kept the connection fresh it will be much more natural and comfortable when you need to reach out — and they will be much more inclined to actually help!

The value of a weak connection

A large network of “weak connections” is more valuable than a small network of close connections. And it is not just a matter of the numbers.

The people you are close to are not always very useful to help you because they tend to be in the same environments, know the same people, and think similarly to you.

Whereas your “weak connections” have access to different stuff!

If you are on a job search (a big reason people reach out to their network) or looking for new insights, your network of weak connections will have more new ideas, broader reach, and bigger impact.

The Science behind this concept:  (from Wikipedia): The Strength of Weak Ties: Mark Granovetter is an American sociologist who has created some of the most influential theories in modern sociology since the 1970s. He is best known for his work in social network theory and in economic sociology, particularly his theory on the spread of information in a community known as “The Strength of Weak Ties” (1973).[1]

As managers it is critical part of our jobs to steadily build capacity in our teams – not just to deliver work.

It’s important not to get too drawn into, or stuck in, the content of what your team delivers.

You need to be leading the people and developing the team, vs. managing (or doing) their work.

We all get tempted to jump in, especially when you feel like it’s easier to do it yourself, or that you are better at it than the people that work for you.

Remember — That is not your job.

You create way more value for the company by developing 10 people to deliver at your level, vs. adding one more person “you” to deliver at their level.

Each time you step up to a bigger job, you need to let go of more content and more detail.

You need to do more strategic things specifically to build capacity and capability in your team so they can contribute more and more value (not necessarily more and more work).

Some people think that if they stop doing the work at a lower level that they are slacking off or that they will lose credibility by not knowing all the details, or will be viewed as not carrying their share of the load.

You are actually more guilty of slacking off by staying in the detail, and not putting in the effort to think and act more strategically.

Some ideas to build capacity and work at a higher level of value as a leader:

1. Build a plan to drive the overall strategy for your team and its contribution to the business.  Look for game-changing opportunities.
2. Create systems and frameworks to execute, track, and measure the work so you can feel comfortable that you know what is getting done without diving into the detail.
3. Create a specific learning agenda for your team such as understanding the financial realities of the business, getting closer to customers, or competitive awareness & positioning.
4. Help them become better leaders, and to focus on the development of their top talent.
5. Focus on energy on defining clear outcomes, and improving team alignment, effectiveness, and communication.
6. Find ways to steadily reduce the cost of things you do every year to make room for new things.
7. Continually make connections outside your direct organization to create positive visibility for your team and a broader base of support.

By staying over-busy with the details, you are not doing the job the company needs you do to.  Even though you are delivering work, you are depleting value vs. building capacity.

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