‘Wi-Fi’ (Water idea-Feed idea) Five ways to make an idea blossom

Ideas rule the world. Ideas solve problems. Ideas transform the economy and modernise the society. Great ideas are the building blocks of strong and successful businesses. Entrepreneurs cultivate their minds to generate creative and great ideas.

My name is ’Niyi Kolade a.k.a thinkUP…liberating souls and celebrating solutions.

Mind is said to be productive when it is able to generate qualitative ideas. Mind needs quality information and inspiration to be productive. Information is water to the mind while inspiration is food – Wi-Fi!

Just like dehydration, an idea can be subjected to ‘de-ideation,’ so, Water idea, Feed idea (Wi-Fi). To water and feed idea means to make an idea bloom or blossom by watering and feeding the mind with information and inspiration, respectively. Mind starvation can be avoided by consistently feeding it with useful information – Wi-Fi!

When an idea is first conceived, it looks crude and raw. It, therefore, means that one must persistently plan and work on an idea to make it plain and workable. An idea only works when we work it out by investing Time, Energy, Action and Money (TEAM). “Ideas don’t come out fully formed, they only become clearer as you work on them. You just have to get started.” – Mark Zuckerberg.

Let’s briefly look at five ways entrepreneurs ‘Wi-Fi’:

1. Think creatively: Whether actively or inactively, everyone thinks, but entrepreneurs are individuals who think creatively. Creative thinkers are active entrepreneurs. To think creatively is to imagine possibilities by thinking outside of the prescribed formulas. Creative thinkers ‘Wi-Fi’ by leveraging information and inspiration to create new ideas while they continue to develop the existing ones, processing them into useful products and services. A brainstorming session prevents the brain from plunging into mental recession.

Brainstorming often takes place in an informal, relaxed setting, where participants are encouraged to share their thoughts freely, build upon the ideas of others and explore a wide range of possibilities. Brainstorming can be done individually, but it is often more effective when done as a group. Ideas are bounced off one another and more creative ideas are generated in a brainstorming session involving more than one person. Brainstorm, be open-minded and Wi-Fi!

“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” – Frank Zappa

2. Innovate: Without innovation, we doubt creativity. Innovation is what creativity looks like. Whether it is scientific or technological innovation, an idea is no longer what it used to be once it has been used to create value or solve a problem. Without ‘Wi-Fi, an idea cannot become an innovation. Ideas don’t come out fully formed, but inventions are fully formed creative ideas. The energy of invention is from zero to one while the energy of innovation is from one to infinity. Inventions don’t need Wi-Fi, innovations do. Ideas birth inventions. Inventions birth innovations. Innovations birth further ideas. Innovation is a combination of technology and creativity. Technological inventions are the driver of innovative solutions. A continuous investment in technology and R&D fosters development of innovative solutions, improvement on an innovation and generation of creative ideas.

3. Borrow brilliance: It takes brilliance to borrow brilliance. Intelligent creators borrow intelligence from many sources and hide it in a source. Resources are needed to develop an idea and turn it into an innovation. No one is too deep or gifted to neglect borrowing brilliance. The more unrelated your borrowing sources are the more original your ideas look. For instance, an innovator may borrow ideas in arts and sciences to create a fin-tech app.

4. Collective intelligence: Collaboration is the next goldmine. Collective intelligence is based on collaboration and cooperation between members of a group. It occurs when individuals pool their expertise, ideas and resources to achieve a common goal. The biggest example of collective intelligence is the search engine, Google. Individuals and organisations add small pieces of information to the internet and the collective intelligence of all those individuals creates a database that can solve nearly every problem.

5. ‘Imitaste’: Before you imitate, ‘imitaste,’ This is actually to say that when you try to borrow ideas to develop your own idea, it is important to ensure that those ideas are compliant with your vision. Imitation without a vision is a limitation. The best way to Wi-Fi is to first have a vision of what you intend to achieve, that is, the big picture of the idea. By so doing, you will have a value system which will dictate a unique ‘Wi-Fi’ system for your enterprise. Sometimes you may have to ‘un-borrow’ and unlearn to bring out the uniqueness (newness and genuineness) of your idea. Again, without a strong vision your “imitation taste buds” will be dull. Visionary innovators are good at ‘imitasting.’

Summarily, a strong “Wi-Fi system” is an initiative made up of both qualitative (innovative) and quantitative (imitative) entrepreneurship.

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