An Idea From An Idea Guy

I am an idea guy. I love ideas of all kinds. Good ones, bad ones, impossible ones. They all lead me places I have not been before. Sometimes I really like that new place and sometimes I don’t. But what I like the least is a world where I never visit them. I bet you know an idea guy or gal too. Someone you work with or a good friend. Some idea people are very famous, think Steve Jobs. And some are really not famous, think me.

I was thinking about this recently because I had two openings on my management team. I started thinking about pretty standard stuff like education, work experience, and personality. It hit me I was solely focusing on what the position needed. I made a list of the perfect candidate and tried my best to find someone to match. I switched my thinking to focus on what I needed. To figure that out I had to figure out who I am. Find my gaps so I can fill them in with team members.

I fall victim to the mortal enemy of many idea people, time. You see it takes time to develop an idea, to sell an idea, to enact an idea, and then perfect an idea. Maybe I am an idea guy because it is the easiest thing to be. It is fun, visionary, forward thinking. It also often gets an inordinate share of the glory when it works out. Even as I type that I like the sound of it. But as time goes by it is so easy to drift from one idea to another. So many things out there inspire innovation or present problems needing solutions. Time is the enemy. Perhaps the most common example is that idea that comes to you at 4:45pm on a Friday. You jump in for 15 minutes and then by the time Monday comes back you are on to the next thing and your Friday idea is left in the dust. It is the reason I try to plan my day with boring stuff at the end. I don’t want to risk real inspiration that gets cut off at the end of the day. I prefer to have those moments in the mornings so they can get some traction. Of course you can’t always decide when an idea will be born, can you.

Here is the challenge. The idea is needed; it must be born, nurtured, and accepted. But then the team is ever more important. The team needs an implementer to bring the intangible to tangibility. The idea guy can still be the steering wheel but he or she really needs that engine to stay moving down the road. Without the right engines you never get anywhere. And the idea, no matter how great, will not come to fruition. A team of idea people will probably be a lot of fun to talk to but short on results.

Let me bring this back to a simple level and my hiring opportunities. What I realized was when hiring for a position on my team it was just as important to determine what I needed as what the position needed. What I need are people who stay task focused and implement things. Creativity is not as important because it is my strength. Nobody on my team works in a vacuum, they work as part of my team. And those interpersonal interactions are going to be a huge factor in their happiness and mine. What I created was a list of the perfect professional complement to me, the team leader. My first interview goal now is to find the person who best meets that list. Then I move on to the perfect candidate attribute list. This approach ensures I put the team process first. And that is something I think more people need to do.

I am an idea guy, and I probably always will be an idea guy. I don’t need copies of myself, I need people to fill out the team and skills available. Simple concept and one I am sure I should have fully appreciated long ago. Better late than never I hope. With a properly constructed team I will never have to look back at the ideas of 6 months ago that never got off the ground. Instead I will be enjoying the benefits and moving on to the next idea. And rest easy knowing I the team in place to make that idea a reality.