A Winning Idea is Critical. How to Create One.
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” – William Orton, President of Western Union, 1876
No one can judge a winning idea. In my opinion, the ‘experts’ are usually wrong.
‘Bitcoin will see zero before $100’, was a J.P. Morgan bank headline I stupidly paid attention to. In 2023, JPM became a monthly purchaser of Bitcoin.
When working with Asian investors, they described three categories of idea. ‘Me first, me better, me too.’ I love that, there is no judgement. Each idea has its place in any market.
For example, there is a need for many landscape garden businesses, each with a differentiation to spotlight it from others. These are, ‘me-too.’ There are many businesses, such as Southwest Airlines that have found a way to improve customer experience and disrupt a market. Southwest Airlines would be a, ‘me-better.’ Then there are the, ‘me-first’ ideas such as Stanford Federal Credit Union who invented the first online payment system.
A winning idea can be a creation or new market, an improvement on what’s already in the market or the same with a slight difference.
Whichever category, you’ll know it’s a winner if the idea gives you a sense of AWE.
Yes, it can be scary. Sure, the world tells you it can’t be done or has already been tried and failed. So long as it fills you with awe, it has the potential to be your winning idea.
Let’s talk about awe for a moment longer.
That is what a winning idea feels like.
When you have it the sense of majesty is almost overwhelming.
If it doesn’t get you like that it isn’t yet the winning idea for you.
Most people come up with an idea for a startup based on something they’re good at, or perhaps what they enjoy doing and are passionate about. That’s okay, but in that moment many startups are actually doomed.
Why?
Because AWE comes from a problem/solution package. We don’t just get the idea, we also instantaneously have the solution. We just have to put it into action. We feel a fluttering in the solar plexus, a bit of fear, a bit of excitement and a lot of, ‘OMG why the **** didn’t I think of that before??’
Take Tory Burch, who built her own fashion label after working for a number of top brands disliking their generic approach. Vera Wang, who started her first fashion label after making her own wedding dress at age 40. Both women are billionaires. When they speak in interviews, they both are full of awe and even use the word. They’re in awe because they actually started their companies when something got under their skin. Neither was qualified to start a company. Neither had traditional fast-track career training.
More often than not, successful businesses are started by people who have little knowledge about what they are doing, but feel full of awe.
According to stats, 99.9% of people start businesses based on something they like or are good at. Only 4% of them, according to the 2016 US census, make more than $50,000 a year in revenue. In fact, less than 1% of single-person companies, which the government classifies as non-employer businesses, make more then $500,000. Clearly doing what you love is not a straight path to financial independence.
If you would be satisfied making $50,000 a year in revenue, this course is not for you. I’m talking about multi-million-dollar winning ideas.
This course and community are about creating companies that disrupt the world and make major impacts in the lives of others. That means the idea must be a winning one and unique in some way. Most people I meet come up short when it comes to creating original ideas because they focus on what they think they are good at. Focus instead on something to create, fix, or improve.
Sixteen years ago, I decided it was time to be my own boss and went through a similar thought process. I considered what I enjoyed doing and was especially good at. However, when I analyzed my life honestly, I was not very skilled at anything.
It came as a bit of a shock to realize I had no talent! That revelation is probably what saved me from joining the millions of failed startups making less than 50,000 a year. Without any identifiable talent, I needed a winning idea.
Learning from Others.
There are always two things you can do when confronted with a problem. You can either struggle to solve it alone, or you can find others who faced similar issues, then mirror what they did.
Mirroring is something we all do without thinking. In humans and chimps there are neurons at the front of our brains called Mirror Neurons. These brain cells activate when we observe someone doing something. Mirror neurons are related to empathic, social and, imitation behavior; a fundamental tool for learning. This is very important information for an entrepreneur. We can learn by observing other entrepreneurs. I’ve done that all my life, by simply reading countless biographies and copying the behavioral patterns that are a common thread. These patterns became the core of my first book, Three Simple Steps.
In the 90’s a group of neuroscientists, directed by Giacomo Rizzolatti from the University of Parma in Italy, discovered something surprising. A large group of neurons in the brains of chimps were activated when the monkey was doing something, and also when the monkey saw another one doing that same action.
From birth, these group of neurons are active in humans too, they allow us to learn to eat, dress, speak, etc. Mirror neurons are also important in planning our actions, as well as understanding intentions behind actions. Do you see where this is going?
Mirror neurons allow us to learn through imitation. They enable us to reflect body language, facial expressions, and emotions. They play an essential part in our social life and are key for development as well as relationships and education.
Mirror neurons are responsible for yawning when we see someone else yawn, and the contagious laughter we experience. Mirror neurons allow us to literally feel what others are feeling and “live” their emotions since the neurons are based on empathy. Empathy is the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like in that person’s situation.
There are many ways to take advantage of mirror neurons. We can observe others and learn without having to repeat the whole experience. We can also read the biographies of successful men and women throughout history. As we read, we imagine them and their experiences. The brain can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined, so we benefit from everything we read.
Since I was fourteen, I have voraciously read biographies. Not just of entrepreneurs, also leaders, adventurers, and entertainers. I believe those experiences assimilated into my mirror neurons without really knowing it.
By the time I was sixteen, my father jokingly called me, ‘a fountain of useless information’, because I knew so much about so many things. My siblings started calling me a, ‘know it all’ and still do.
Frequently, people comment on how much I seem to know about on many different topics. The truth is, I assimilated information by reading biographies as well as scientific texts. One can’t help read biographies and not become a fountain of knowledge.
Later in the course, we’ll look at the habits of the successful and wealthy. Reading biographies is one very common trait, from Warren Buffet to Richard Branson.
My point? When reading so many life stories it became obvious to me that successful entrepreneurs didn’t start out trying to be a business-person. What made them entrepreneurs was simply that they got upset about something and set about fixing it.
Here are a few more examples:
•Henry Ford grew up on a farm, then was an engineer working at the Edison Illuminating Company.
•Madam C. J. Walker was born to slaves in the cotton fields of the south. She was promoted to the washtub, then to the cook’s kitchen.
•Branson was a dyslexic high school dropout with poor academic results who wrote a student magazine.
None of them set out to be entrepreneurs because their priority at the time was simply surviving in a tough environment. They became entrepreneurs because they saw something that needed fixing and then decided to remedy it.
In Ford’s case, it was to make cars that could free the common man to travel. The burgeoning industry of the time saw the car as a rich man’s privilege only. That made him mad. His winning idea is a ‘me-better.’
Madam C.J. Walker’s hair kept falling out due to malnutrition and stress. All the ‘old wives’ concoctions she used failed to help, some even caused her harm. Understandably, she was upset, then set about fixing the problem by creating her own hair tonics. She created a unique one that worked and others asked her to make hair tonic for them. She saw a needy group of locals and started selling door-to-door. Her idea was a ‘me-first.’
Branson wanted to find a way to help students afford vinyl records. He was a ‘me-too’ with differentiation.
What they have is common is the experience of something that made them so hopping mad, they set about fixing it. In my opinion, that’s where winning ideas come from.
From Three Simple Steps:
For the fifth launch, the company was excited. My experience warned me that most of the employees working on a project tend to buy into their own story. Everyone is so keen for the success upon which their jobs depend that some partial blindness to facts can creep into the culture. We had a classic situation brewing, with everyone believing the fifth launch would be the blockbuster to make everyone happy.
In a routine press release to shareholders, Bob had announced the market forecast for the new drug was a half billion dollars in its first year. On a difficult commute, I had to come up with a way of letting him know my estimate for the first year was for only $5 million in annual sales.
When everyone else had left for home, I sat him down with a coffee and presented my numbers. He paled. I argued that the gap between our estimates was enormous, and even if I were slightly wrong, shareholders would be crushed. It was time for damage control and a concerted public relations effort to lower the street’s expectations.
Bob believed his own numbers were the more accurate. He asked for evidence of my assumptions, and I had to admit that I was going more on instinct than facts. His information came from a paid consultant, but the consultant had just fed back to him what he thought the CEO wanted to hear. Bob added that if I could not achieve half a billion, then he could always find someone else who would.
I called my wife from my hotel later that evening. I was halfway through explaining how I felt about it all, when she cut me off in mid-rant. “You didn’t meditate this morning, did you?” she accused. I explained how I had to get an early flight. “You should have gotten up earlier. That’s what you tell everyone else to do.” She added that when I meditate I am always calm in a crisis and confident that whatever is happening is part of the way of the winding staircase. She was right, and I admitted it.
I was booked into a chain-brand hotel in the city. No matter what part of the world you happen to be in, every room in this hotel chain looks the same. I usually stay in boutique hotels that at least have gardens or views so I can keep plugged into the nature matrix, but this trip had been arranged by someone else at short notice.
A few miles away was a Wellness Center, situated on the edge of scenic wetlands. Primarily a spa in a serene setting, it offers nutritional and lifestyle guidance for people who want to lose weight and live healthier. The therapists take care of their clients without judgment and also work on the spiritual and energy disturbances they believe underlie a tendency toward obesity. It attracts people from all over the country and has uniquely styled bedrooms for those who choose to stay on site. Years before, I had learned that when all the rooms are not taken, they can be reserved by non-members, just like a hotel room. I had stayed there several times and found it a place to plug powerfully into the matrix. I used to take some good-natured ribbing from my peers about it because they preferred hotels with in room food delivery and a porn channel on the TV.
I called and found a room was available. When I arrived, the place was just about shut down for the night. Other than the security guard, I appeared to have the building to myself.
The bedrooms are on the second story. At the end of the corridor is a staircase that winds up a tower to a meditation room. The spa believes meditation can help obese people in many healthful ways. The circular room has floor-to-ceiling windows, affording views over marshland. Before turning in for the night, I sat up there for a couple of hours. I reiterated my desire to start my own company and finally took quiet time a little late in the day.
I rose early and repeated my trip to the tower room. The spiralling climb reminded me that all good things in my life go the way of the winding staircase. Then I grabbed a healthy breakfast before heading back to the office.
The atmosphere in the office was tense. Word was out that Bob was mad with me. There is no such thing as winning an argument, especially with your boss. The Spanish have a lovely saying for this: “When someone argues with a fool, it is hard to tell the difference.” Most people stayed clear of me, as if I had become contagious. I rechecked my market assumption. If anything, I felt I was being overly optimistic and even $5 million in annual sales would take a lot of effort. I looked for support from other executives but soon realized I was alone on this.
I went back to see Bob in his office. Neither of us held onto anger, and even in the heat of our battle, there was still a mutual respect present between us. I told him I accepted that he was in a difficult position. If he could not accept my forecast, I would step aside so he could find a replacement quickly. I offered to help that person with a transitional period because I still wanted the company to succeed. I was for their success, even if I could not be part of it. He accepted my resignation. We negotiated a fair settlement and an amicable parting.
I felt the greatest peace, and the decision felt right intuitively. I got to the airport well ahead of my flight time.
I was at the foot of an escalator, just about to head up to the VIP lounge, when the idea for the perfect business hit me. It just popped into my head. It was not a single thread or a vague notion. The whole concept flashed into my mind. It seemed so obvious that I wanted to hit myself for not coming up with it sooner. I remember laughing out loud and receiving puzzled looks from strangers standing around me. These moments of insight happen all the time when you practice the three steps in this book and are a thrilling experience every time.
Immediately to my right was a small bookstore. Something drew me to it. In the business section was a single copy of a book, so small that I was surprised it had not fallen behind a shelf. It was about why many small businesses fail within a year. I bought the only copy and devoured it on the flight home.
I was fired up when I landed. I had sketched out a business plan on the back of a napkin. The business model had never been attempted before in my industry. I needed to raise investment, but had no connections in that world. I also needed to convince my ex-CEO, the one I just fell out with, to let me purchase one of the company’s assets.
I never ask how something can be achieved. I set the target and let life fill in the details. On the drive home from the airport, I tried to work out how to explain all of this to my wife. I planned a dinner and rehearsed what I would say. We would need to sell our dream home, which we had only been living in for a short while. As I entered the house, she took one look at me and said, “You’re starting your own business at last!” She is always a step ahead of me. A little abashed, I mumbled about maybe having to sell the house. “Okay” she said. “Now, what do you fancy for dinner?”
Through dinner, we talked about the idea, the structure, and what I wanted to achieve for patients. We both got fired up, and it was well into the early hours before we retired to bed.
Homework Time:
The reality for most people, however, is somewhat different and the reason is simple. Startup ideas abound, winning ideas are rare. A moment of insight is worth a lifetime of experience.
So, if you are a budding entrepreneur who wants to startup something based on what you enjoy, think again. Sure, if you want a small living to supplement your boring day job then doing what thousands of others already do will likely achieve that.
Instead, if you want a multi-million dollar success, you need to change the way you think and come up with a moment of insight. Start by taking note of what makes you mad.
Every time something gets under your skin, write it down. When you hear yourself or others complaining about something being wrong, take note. When someone expresses a wish for something that does not yet exist, scribble the request on a piece of paper.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that making a mental note is all you need. It’s scientifically proven that people who physically write something down also take action. Writing by hand creates greater retention of key facts than typing. People who believe they can remember anything and don’t need lists or notes are unlikely to ever make good entrepreneurs.
Keep a pen and paper handy at all times. This is an important though simple entrepreneurial tip. Keep them by the bed, in every room, in the car, in coat pockets, everywhere. For the want of a pen, brilliant ideas have come and gone. Buy a stack of post-it notes and litter your life with them.
Over time, a pattern will emerge. Similar things will make your blood boil more than others. In that pattern is the seed to a winning idea. All that said, however, we often get bombarded than more than one idea.
Which one to choose? For that, we need a strong connection to our intuition. In today’s world of fast paced change we need intuition more than ever. In the next lesson I will speak purely on the importance of intuition. For now, here are two excellent videos to whet your appetite. The first is on intuition and its modern place. The second, on CIA studies into psychic abilities.
Both are excellent watches!
Enjoy.
Resources
A few more words on winning ideas
