MyTechnologyCompany.com

MyTechnologyCompany.com

Trevor Speirs  //  Constantly Learning, Fearlessly Doing


Passionate about technology start-ups (especially at the intersection of social, mobile, and game technologies), I am currently exploring the large corporate world by helping a $4 billion multi-national improve their innovation strategy.
In my spare time, I try to find the best indie music bands to supplement my massive music collection and share with my friends.

Dec 12 / 12:07pm

Ideas Are Not Your Biggest Asset

I repeatedly see people protecting "ideas' to the nth degree of paranoia. Even comments such as we don't want our own employees to see ideas of other employees because they may steal them! My answer to that sentiment is simple. Follow the conversation:

  • Them: "We don't want to let our employees to ideas that other employees have submitted because they may steal them?"
  • Me: "Help me understand, you are afraid an employee will take an idea that you are aware of, leave the company, start a new business from scratch, resource that business, build the solution, and penetrate the market faster than your well-established, well-funded company can?"
  • Them: "Yes....err no...err wait"
Frankly, they should promote that employee before he leaves, but that is another discussion. The main point is that the only advantage a new company has over an established one is that it is not affected by the past. The past is what makes established companies unable to execute these new ideas. They have a set understanding on how to develop and market a product. To their detriment their success has caused them to lose their flexibility.

With today's understanding of the impediments to innovation, there is no excuse for an established company to be out executed by a new start-up. They have capital, they have staff, they have established sales/distribution models, and they have existing customer relationships. The startup has an idea and some flexibility. Why do many established companies still lose this fight? No excuse.

I want to end this post by referring to another post at VentureBeat that illustrates it's not the idea, it's the execution. A young startup was doing some customer research and had their idea stolen by one of the VP's they visited who started a competing company. Main point - it wasn't the idea that was going to win the battle, it was the execution and complete understanding of the how the customers viewed the idea. A great read that I highly recommend to anyone who is still overprotective of ideas!

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