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So many times I hear, “We’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.” So, the idea gets tossed off the table. Or I hear, “I had an idea just like that 5 years ago, but it didn’t go anywhere.” The first comment is draining as it demonstrates lack of willingness to innovate. The second comment is hopeful as it shows innovation..but was maybe just before its time.
Yesterday Brad Whitehead was speaking to a bunch of students at Ashland University and getting jazzed up about Turning Technologies, the fastest growing privately held software company – located at the Youngstown Business Incubator. He was saying that soon Turning Point, the audience response technology pioneered by Turning Technologies, will be embedded into cell phones and asked the students, “Won’t it be cool when we are at an Indian’s game and people press 3 to say what kind of pitch C.C. throws next and it shows up on the scoreboard?”
I think it will be cool when we hit 3 as a Region to vote on new ideas that will advance our economy. The voting may be tied to making grants to fund new ideas, and it may be tied to signing up to help on an initiative, or maybe simply just to have fun celebrating our work. And, it will be cool when we hit send to upload our ideas that we’ve been storing on the shelf for 5+ years because the time wasn’t right for our innovative new ideas.
So, take this as a call to open up the 5-year Idea Machine. Go back in your minds and remember those great ideas you started – and maybe stopped – or never started – and think again about whether the time is right, RIGHT NOW. Dust off your ideas and send them here…and let’s figure out how to get them working!
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