Employee Buy-In And The Great Idea

By Rick Segel

As the commercial once said, "It's not how many ideas you have, it's how many ideas you can make happen." If we can't execute the ideas we have, then what good are the ideas? How many times have you had a great idea that doesn't materialize? It's not always the idea's fault — it's the way we execute that idea.

So the real question isn't about the quality of the idea but rather the steps that must be taken in order to make our ideas successful, also known as the execution process. Although execution management is one of today's buzz words, I was brought up in a tough neighborhood and because of this I don't like the term execution. I prefer to use terms such as the "follow-through of an idea" or, better yet, the "idea's protocol."

I am a naturally creative person, and as I like to put it, I have the disease of "more." Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain off and stop thinking about new ideas and possibilities. I am finally realizing that an idea is useless if it isn't implemented properly. So now I force myself to ask what are the steps required or what the process should look like in order to make an idea a reality.