"All great ideas and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.”
– Albert Camus
When it comes to disruptive innovation in an organization, people more often than not struggle with the apparent absurdity of radical ideas. Sometimes this even applies to the people who spawn the idea. But, every product we touch and every service we use began with a simple “what if?” In fact, the more significant the impact on our world, the crazier the idea might have originally seemed.
Think for a moment about your own life. How many times have you had a seemingly illogical idea turn into something that, in retrospect, made perfect sense. The reason the idea impacted your life is because you didn’t reject it.
So when it comes to innovation, it’s important to never lose sight of what Camus tells us – embrace the ridiculous, the "out there", the no-way-this-could-ever-work. But do more than that. Start talking to others about it. Let that ridiculous idea be shaped and fleshed out by others' perspectives. Let the idea take on a life of its own.
Before you know it, that ridiculous idea may become something that changes your company or even your industry. And, even if it doesn’t, it will undoubtedly have changed you.
