Q3 Blog post week 3/29

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality

Oren Rosin 3/29/15

As I stated in my last blog, I looked into Making Ideas Happen as a way to find inspiration for ideas. One could find that they are lacking in something that they want. One could also want to try something new. However many will find more success in sticking to something they are familiar with, thus it is better to look for inspiration in categories you are already knowledgeable about (which is something I generally do when I need an idea). The advantages of this are that you will need less research and can start working on your idea sooner, while the disadvantage may be that your idea is limited either by difficulty in execution or lack of practicality.

In Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, Belsky does not go into depth about the creative process (beyond what I said above), so much as what to do once you make it past the inspiration barrier. What Belsky does emphasize about making ideas happen is that the following things are necessary to execute your ideas: organization, leadership, creativity, and support of community. Of these, organization, as well as creativity (for obvious reasons) are needed to come up with a strong, practical idea in the first place. One should come up with multiple ideas and organize them, listing all the aspects of each idea, including pros and cons. Creativity, unlike organization, is more abstract since there is no guaranteed way to come up with a brilliant idea. Even the smartest people struggle to come up with great ideas, which is why this book is meant to help people take their ideas forward.

Q3 Blog Post 1

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality

Oren Rosin 3/8/15

In Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, Belsky discusses the correlation between ideas, actual development, and execution. He emphasizes that success does not just come from good ideas, but also a number of other factors. One’s ability to organize and lead are key to executing potentially good ideas. To organize well, one should approach an idea they want to work with as a long term project that they break down into multiple parts: Action Steps, which are fully planned out actions that bring the project forward and get tasks done. Backburner Items, which are potential actions that may need to be taken in the future when the chance is available. References, which are items related to the project which a person may refer to if they need to. Additionally, communicating with people around you a, finding support, and publicizing will largely increase your chances of bringing an idea forward.

Despite all this, most big ideas are never put into fruition. Most often, ideas fail because the creator failed either failed to meet some of the steps above or lose to something out of their control (i.e lack of available people, resources, too much competition, etc…). Additionally, it is difficult to actually come up with innovative ideas. This is something I have personally struggled with when wanting to start projects. I have a hard time thinking of ways to use my best talents and ways to innovate. This is one of the reasons I went with this book; I am trying to find ways to better come up with ideas and I feel that this book may help me in the long run.