Let a thousand flowers bloom
Yesterday, we talked about how your an idea machine.
Your ADHD makes you a natural entrepreneur and innovator (whether you run your own business or work for someone else).
You’ll come up with more ideas in a year than you can implement in a lifetime. So… how do you decide which ones to pursue?
Early in my career, I heard presentation expert Garr Reynolds paraphrase former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki quoting communist General Mao…
Plant many seeds. Let a thousand flowers bloom.
When you plant seeds in a garden, you have no idea which ones will sprout.
An area where you were confident they’d grown will end up barren. An area of the garden you didn’t pay much attention too will become overrun. Some plants will cross-germinate and bloom in unexpected colors. Native plants will intermix, creating a wonderful, unexpected tapestry of color.
Ideas are like that, too.
You have no idea which ones will stick, or how they’ll interact with your existing customers, clients, systems, home life, work culture, and so on.
Your best bet is to sow the seeds of many ideas, and see what blooms.
Launch a shitty first draft. Iterate quickly. Replant the stuff that blooms, and plant over the stuff that doesn’t.
Tend that idea garden. You’ll be surprised by what blooms.