Ideas Have A Short Shelf Life
Not long ago, I discovered I had some food allergies, which has created some challenges.
One of those challenges is ordering additional grocery items and then finding room to stock those items—plus all the regular ones—in the refrigerator. Then it becomes a matter of watching the “Best Buy” dates to make sure we use the older items first. It’s a matter of shelf life.
That reminds me of ideas. Ideas have a short shelf life, too.
How often do we come up with a great idea—or at least we think it is a great idea—but we don’t have the appropriate time to address it? We come up with the idea in the shower, and then we have to remember it until we get out. Unless, of course, you’ve already mastered bringing your phone into the shower and getting Siri to record your idea for a time when you’re more available!
Most of us aren’t quite at that level of “think and act.” So, we try to remember the idea until we get out of the shower, maybe even until after we get dressed. And sometimes, by then, that brilliant idea is gone. The point is that ideas have a short shelf life. John Maxwell teaches that when a good idea comes, we need to act on it before its expiration date.
Capturing an Idea Is Only the Beginning
The first step is simple: capture the idea. I’ve learned that I need a place to put ideas when they show up. I may not have time to fully develop them, but I can capture them. Because an idea that is not captured is left entirely to memory—and memory has a way of losing the competition to whatever demands our attention next.
But capturing an idea isn’t enough. At some point, we have to act. That lesson goes much deeper for me than remembering an idea in the shower. It connects directly to one of the biggest decisions of my life. During my corporate engineering career, I always wanted the responsibility of leading a team. Maybe even more than that, I wanted a spot at the leadership table where I could help influence the direction of the organization. I worked hard to earn that opportunity. I demonstrated my loyalty by arriving earlier than most and often working later.
But there were also moments when I realized I wasn't always participating in the decisions that directly affected me. One Friday evening, before I had left for the day, our department manager published a new organizational chart. That was how I discovered I was being reassigned. No conversation. No notification. To make matters even more confusing, I was scheduled to leave Monday morning on a business trip for the very project I was apparently no longer responsible for.
Later, when the company struggled and went through cutbacks, I considered taking a voluntary leave. I wasn’t ready. When another opportunity came, I still wasn’t ready. The idea was there. The opportunity was there. But I wasn't prepared to act on it. Eventually, after six years of developing myself and people through a leadership activity that I had been allowed to start, was added to my job responsibilities, and then even been given credit for, was suddenly and without explanation removed without inquiring about my perspective. That became a defining moment for me. I had to ask myself a difficult question: When does the company stop managing me so I can start leading myself?
That question moved me from an idea to action. Five years later, I continue to do leadership development and continually invest in more tools to bring more value to my clients.
What Happens When Leaders Don’t Listen?
There’s an organizational culture lesson here, too. The best ideas in an organization rarely reside exclusively at the top. Leaders have perspective, but so do the people closest to the customer, the process, the equipment, the problems, and the opportunities.
When leaders intentionally seek input from the entire team, they gain perspectives they simply cannot have on their own. Yet sometimes a leader assumes they have their finger completely on the pulse of the organization. Rarely is any one person that self-aware and that team-conscious.
That’s why a healthy culture creates opportunities for people to be seen and heard. It encourages ideas. It asks questions. It listens before deciding. But here’s the danger: asking for ideas without doing anything with them can eventually be worse than not asking at all.
If team members repeatedly offer ideas that disappear into a black hole, eventually they learn something: Stop offering them.
Imagine how many ideas are sitting inside your organization right now—ideas for improving communication, serving customers, reducing waste, developing people, solving problems, or building the future. What is their shelf life?
Leadership doesn't mean implementing every idea. Some ideas need additional thought. Some need refinement. Some simply aren't good ideas. But every idea deserves a decision.
Capture It. Act on It.
So here’s the challenge:
Capture it. When an idea surfaces, write it down. Create a system that keeps good ideas from disappearing. And as a leader, create an environment where your people know their ideas are welcome.
Act on it. Decide what happens next. Develop it. Delegate it. Schedule it. Test it. Or intentionally decide not to pursue it. Just don’t allow a potentially great idea to expire because nobody took responsibility for moving it forward.
I waited through more than one opportunity before I was ready to act on the idea that I needed to lead myself differently. Looking back, perhaps I needed those experiences to prepare me for the decision I eventually made. But I also learned something important:
Ideas have a shelf life.
Opportunities do, too.
Leadership is knowing when it’s time to stop thinking about what could be—and start taking action toward what should be.
Brian Peterson | Leadership Harbor Leadership Coach • Speaker • Culture & Growth Consultant Helping leaders and organizations create Clarity, Direction & Results by developing people, strengthening leadership, and intentionally building culture.
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