Many new creative ideas are weak. This is particularly true of ideas from those people who have a considerable motivation for creativity, who think they are quite good at it, but who have never taken the time to develop a proper skill in creativity. The fact that an idea is novel, fun and interesting does not mean it is a good idea.
There is quite a residue from the days when brainstorming was regarded as the main route to deliberate creativity. In brainstorming people sought to have ideas which were so unusual that they attracted attention. The value of the idea was of less importance than being 'unusual' or attracting attention.
Brainstorming was originally intended for the advertising industry where a novel idea had value because if its attention-grabbing novelty. Elsewhere novelty, as such, has less value. Unusual ideas can indeed be used as 'provocation', but that is not the same as a final idea.
FAULTS
An idea may be weak because it has a lot of faults and specific weak points. If those faults can be put right, the idea may indeed be strong. For example, a powerful tax incentive for corporations to invest in research can be weak because it can so easily be abused. Corporations can too easily claim phoney research expenditures.
It is not always easy to separate minor faults from major ones. Once an idea is put into action, a lot of stress and energy can fall on an apparently minor point, just as a tiny scratch in the surface of a panel of glass can lead to the whole panel shattering. This is particularly the case with 'abuse', in which a great deal of energy becomes devoted either to by-passing or profiting from the new idea.
It is therefore dangerous to focus only on the major faults and to ignore the others. Obviously there are faults which prevent the idea being usable in the first place. I am not about to consider such faults here.
The term 'weakness' as used here signifies that the idea is viable and does have benefits, but there is weakness. In overcoming the fault type of weakness it is important not to alter the idea so much that the fault is indeed overcome, but the main value of the idea is lost.
ENERGY
'This idea has legs'. That is a very expressive Americanism which simply means that the idea 'will run and run'. There are ideas which are do-able and which have value but are, nevertheless, weak.
Think of a positive feedback cycle. Once the cycle starts, it feeds back to itself, and the energy grows and grows. A weak idea is exactly the opposite. A lot ot energy has to be put into the idea but the idea does not sustain itself. When the input energy slackens, the idea fails. The idea has to be supported all the time.
For many years McDonald's lost money on the idea that its food places should serve breakfast. Then the idea took off and become one of the most profitable parts of the business. How do you distinguish between an idea that needs a lot of supporting energy to begin with but then 'takes off; and an idea which continues to absorb a lot of energy and never takes off? What is the cut-off? How much time do you allow?
Obviously there are cost/benefit considerations. If the supporting costs are not great, and the rewards are large, then you can afford to support the idea for much longer. This was possibly the case with McDonald's breakfasts.
If, from the beginning, you know that the idea will take a long time to get going, then you will stick with the idea. An obvious example is the initial introduction of mobile telephones. It may be that people had to acquire new habits. It may be that people had to break old habits. It may be that a 'critical mass' of awareness or of use had to be reached.
MOTIVATION
Motivation is one form of energy. Those who have to work on the idea and to deliver it need to be motivated. What is in it for them? Does it make life simpler for them or more complicated? Are they working on the idea because they want to or because they have been so instructed? Are they motivated by some extrinsic incentive scheme attached to the idea or by the idea itself? Some ideas are attractive. People want to work with them. Other ideas are 'ho-hum': you can take them or leave them.
In the educational world, there are a few people who are always wanting to introduce new idea. They are bored by routine. They also want the ego satisfaction of having their name attached to something. There is also an enjoyment of the sense of achievement; making something happen. There are others who hate all new ideas.
Such people have established comfortable routines. Every new idea is a burden and hassle and means learning new processes. There are very few suggested new ideas that actually make life easier for teachers. That a new idea may considerably benefit the students is not so motivating as might be expected. If an idea fails to motivate those who are supposed to deliver the idea, that is a major weakness.
MECHANISMS
If an idea can flow through existing mechanisms, that idea is much stronger than one which needs an alteration in existing mechanisms or even new mechanisms.
Organisations are set up to do things. People are in a position to do things. If the new idea is 'do-able' within the existing framework, that helps. An idea is weak if it demands a change of mechanism or structure.
BENEFITS
If the benefits are weak, then the idea is weak no matter how exciting, how novel or how different. Too often creative people think of an 'interesting' idea and then rummage around to see how benefits might be claimed for the idea. In itself, this is not bad. After all, the challenge process does exactly this: make a change and then look for the benefits. But the challenge process is only a step towards an idea. The final idea does have to show benefits.
The label on a bottle of mineral water usually gives the name of the producer. We challenge that. What about using that space for advertising totally different products: Kodak film, McDonald's, etc.? What are the benefits? Additional source of revenue from a prime advertising site? Part of the label may even be a detachable discount voucher. The idea seems attractive. In the end, the value depends on how much advertisers would be willing to pay.
UNCERTAINTY
In one of my books I write about 'if boxes'. You can show an action path which only depends on your willingness to take that action. Then you come up to an 'if box'. At this point there is dependence on something happening that is outside your control. Suppose you apply for a permit to open a licensed restaurant; you have to wait for the permit to be granted. If the permit is granted, then you go ahead. The more if-boxes there are, the more the dependence and uncertainty. So the more if-boxes there are, the weaker the idea. If matters cannot be predicted, the idea is weak.
In this context prediction means 'generally speaking'. If you lower prices, you cannot be absolutely sure that people will buy more, but it is a reasonable expectation. If you raise prices in order to create a 'quality' image, you are much less sure that people will accept that image. Reasonable expectations also form if-boxes, but do not weaken an idea.
RESOURCES
An idea is weak if it demands a lot of resources: finance, time, management, expertise, monitoring, etc. There are some new ideas which are so obvious and logical that once they have been created everyone wants to implement them. Most ideas, however, are an uncertainty placed in the future, a promise of benefits. If the predicted cost in terms of resources is very high, then the promised benefits must be considerable. Otherwise the idea is weak.
DIFFERENCE
Which is the weaker: an idea which is quite similar to an existing idea, or one which is totally new? The answer is not easy. Many very successful ideas have been 'me-too' ideas. Someone else has tested and developed the market. You then come in with a slightly better idea or a slightly better way of delivering it. From a 'creative' point of view, the similar idea is creatively weak. From a practical point of view, the idea is not necessarily weak. If there are already many me-too ideas in the field, then you are just playing catch-up. This may be necessary from a defensive point of view.
ACCEPTANCE
Politics is the art of the possible, which is why business executives often make bad politicians. For a business executive, if something makes sense, then you do it: for a politician, there has to be acceptance. The idea may be excellent, but if, for various reasons, it is not acceptable, then the idea remains weak. The resistance may indeed be overcome, but the idea will be weak until that happens.
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