The Big Idea

 

 

Growing up as a little boy, some of the repeated phrases I heard some of my mentors espouse were: “Success favours the bold.”  And another is, “When patterns and tradition is broken, new opportunities cascade down.”

Now, at every cusp of change, one often challenges the orthodoxy. And great change can only be achieved when one persistently and effectively engages the big idea think big!

Real Estate Developer Donald Trump said it best, “You have to think anyway, so why not think big?” Dr. Schuller put it this way, “You can go anywhere from where you are if you are willing to dream big and work hard.”

The reason why big ideas seldom come to our minds is because we don’t ask the right penetrating questions.  We don’t put things in proper perspective.

Sometimes, to help me think big this is what I have to do; when I procure any product or come across something or an idea that titillates my mind, my first reaction would be, ‘how can I improve this product or idea?’ This line of thought has helped me a great deal to think-out profound ideas, strategies and business concepts that I never would’ve thought about.

Similarly, I’d like to presume that the Wright brothers reacted in like manner they asked themselves a simple question.

And the question they raised was encoded in seven letter words. The answer gleaned from those seven letter words, however, had tremendous effects in their lives and the entire world at large. The answer disturbed fixed pattern, made transportation seamless and opened humanity to a vista of possibilities.

Here are the seven letter words, I presumed, the Wright brothers asked: “How can we improve on Langley’s Aerodrome?”

Perhaps, you may likely quote me wrong on my presumption, but I strongly believe that the rationale behind the Wright Flyer 1 is not remotely far from those seven letter words.

On the one hand, the big idea, in the long haul, would require big level thinking. That is, putting ideas and vision in the proper perspective, asking the right penetrating questions, brain storming and taking the necessary steps afterwards in order to achieve desired results.

The big idea is what differentiates the average visionary from the visionary who survive the drudgery of 4minutes. It position’s the visionary or the individual at a vantage point to take delivery of opportunities when they open. For instance, my first job, immediately I left senior secondary school, was that of a waiter in a leading fast food company. I was dedicated and committed to give my best to every customer I attended to. My cliché, even before approaching a customer at table, is how I can be of service so that that customer would call again. This cliché made me serve every customer delightsomely that they tip me some change as they take leave.

When I’m in the roster to clean the lobby, I’d see to it that the floor tiles and glassy windows were all sparkling. Now I was doing my job diligently never knew the management were taking notice of my activities.

One faithful morning the frontline supervisor resigned and the company was looking for a replacement; I was in the lobby attending to a customer when the manager called my attention that the C.E.O. of the company would like to see me in his office. Almost everyone would be jittery when told your boss want to see you in his office.

So I went and my boss gave me a litany of how they’ve been monitoring my progress ever since I was employed. At first I was shocked because as far as I was concern I was doing my best. Then my boss said, “My boy effective tomorrow you’re resuming as the frontline supervisor.” Quite frankly I thought my boss was pulling my legs when he said that because the position is reserved for people with experience and university degree; I had just finished my senior secondary school, devoid of supervisory experience, and somebody said that I should resume as a supervisor in a leading fast food company in a big city. Anyways, they did, and I did; and that was how I became a supervisor in a big company in a big city because I had the big idea.

The jump from a waiter to a supervisor did not come as a shock to my colleagues, some whom have been working in that company before I was employed. You see, man is a gregarious being, but people will nearly always follow the man with the big idea whether boss or staff.

When I left the fast food company, I was in employment with a fast growing noodles production plant. Again, I was committed to give my best at the production line where I was posted to work. Every production line has an overseer that manages production activities in a line. Now I was diligent in my work never knew the plant supervisor was taking notice of my commitment. One day, the overseer of my production line was asked to oversee another line and the plant supervisor said to me, “Effective immediately you’re to oversee the production line.”

This time, with no or little experience, I assumed the position as the overseer in my production line because I had the big idea.

Unlike my first job, the jump from a production line attendant to production line overseer came as a shock to many because you have to spend at least two years in that company before you’ll be considered for such position; I had only worked for seven months in that company and I was made the overseer (as it is called in that company). Now somebody reading this perhaps might say I’m lucky; well you’re not far from the truth, but in all leap’s I’ve gained at every place I’ve worked, I attribute it to having the big idea.