Ideas are Infinite, just like You!

Well, so I have a confession to make. I have been, for quite some time now, passionate about the immense power of ideas. I believe ideas are indeed the currency of the 21st century knowledge economy. Today's challenges and opportunities place a premium - perhaps like never before in human history - on our ability to continually generate worthy ideas and implement them. For the good of our organizations, societies and lives. 

An almost direct implication of this is the heightened need to establish a vibrant democracy of ideas - an environment where ideas are not sought out from the select or privileged few, but from (almost) everyone! Well, various stakeholders should be given not just the opportunity to contribute ideas, but to also give shape to their implementation. 

Are our organizations and societies capable of doing this? I find that the answer is largely NO, at present. They need to set in place new organizational processes, structures and moreover cultures and mindsets, in order to be able to engineer the shift. Not easy, not impossible as well.

Exactly around two years ago, I thought of proposing a system that can enable the Government of India to do this. A system that would enable the Government to become a virtual Idea Factory.  I had thought deeply about the design of the system and was very excited about it. 

In fact, I had already proposed citizen engagement platforms such as regulations.gov, petititions.whitehouse.gov to the leadership of my organization, in May 2014 itself; but my ideas were not received favourably enough.

So, I had the idea conceptualized, but I had not yet learnt how to develop an online portal end-to-end. Hence, I got in touch with one of my entrepreneur friends, who had started a pain-sharing portal called sharingdard.com (seems to have been shut down or shifted now), in the hope that she and her team could collaborate with me, in developing this idea sharing portal. I was hoping that once it is done, we could present it to the Prime Minister of India. :) 

But then, this happened, MyGov was launched, by the PM himself. 

Well, it was a happy sad moment for me - to be honest, more sad than happy. I took to Facebook and vented my grief, in the form of a question, asking: do I need to be happy or sad, or both?

I now realize that the first answer - given by my friend Aniket Chati - is perhaps the best one, the best attitude to have, the best way to respond: "Nothing. you would get another idea very soon". Not just as the best way to console yourself.

But more so as an authentic reflection of our reality. Each one of us has infinite potential. So does our organizations. I feel that often, we pay only lip-service to these statements.

If we really realize that we are capable of and called to do great things, that we have infinite capacity, the loss of one opportunity, the failure to get recognition or appreciation for anything, should hardly matter.

I realize that this realization of self can also be highly liberating. It would enable us to share credit, give genuine appreciation and really build others, in a much better, easier and authentic manner.

So, let us make every effort to realize this hidden potential in us. And in our family members, friends, colleagues and everyone else we come in touch with. And let us also work towards reforming our organizations, so that they become ecosystems that lead to the growth of dense forests, comprised of trees that extend heavenward. And not remain as furnaces that do disservice to the infinite beautiful potential of the people who work in them.

Postscript: You would be amused to know that another idea which I proposed to some of my colleagues, was also launched separately by the Prime Minister around an year ago But then, hey, I am at least a little wiser now. I am infinite, just like you! And our ideas too. Let us resolve to work together, to realize our potential - and our ideas.

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