You and I are in the idea production business.
Sure, we may not carry a job title with the word “idea” in it, but if we peel away all of the specialties of what we do, we’ll find that most of us are in the business of formulating and acting on ideas—either ours or others. The better ideas we have or act on, the more successful we’ll be.
Early in my career, when I was making the shift from being a technical contributor into management, I remember being told in a management training class that I had to rethink the value of my new role. No longer should I go home and say my day was wasted because it was spent in meetings. If you’re a manager, that’s what you do.
The instructor went on. As you move up the ladder, he said, your value contribution changes. The CEO, for instance, can feel good about a day when he has an idea, because that idea can reshape a company or even an industry. That’s leverage on time well spent.
To be sure, not all ideas emanate from the top. Nevertheless, I’ve never forgotten the lesson. Ideas are value creators.
I’ve often asked myself at the end of a day, “What ideas did I have today?” My answer is not often very satisfying. And it’s not because the ideas I had weren’t good. It’s more often because I didn’t take the time to cultivate any.
Which got me to thinking… What opportunities might I have had to create something really exceptional if I wasn’t so deep in the weeds elsewhere? Or if I had set better boundaries to keep from being overloaded? Or if I were more intentional to guard my time to think creatively, rather than reacting impulsively to the next squeaky wheel?
What’s the cost of that missed idea? The world will never know.
A version of this post originally appeared on learygates.com.
Leary Gates is the co-host of the BoldIdea podcast and leadership and corporate venture coach. He writes on his blog learygates.com about leadership, transition, productivity and personal venturing. Learn more by visiting Leary’s blog or follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google Plus.