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Why were these ideas sent to the black hole of my mind?  Why were some projects completed quickly; while two manila folders sat on my desk for weeks?  In my mind; I could not find the motivation to spend time and money to convert the idea to an actionable project.  There was no call to action, no interest on my part – but there was peer pressure to move the idea forward from others.

Over the weekend I finished “The Monk and The Riddle” by Randy Komisar.  I highly recommend the book if you have not read it; Randy tells a story to explain why successful ideas must have passion.  At a gut level, we know that our idea must be aligned with our belief system and that our motivation must have a purpose.  When the motivation behind the idea is not genuine it shows; especially when the motivation is greed.

In the book, Randy discusses passion and drive; which on the surface seem to have the same meaning; yet, the two words are different.  Randy states “passion pulls you toward something you cannot resist.  Drive pushes you toward something you feel compelled or obligated to do”.

This morning, I tabled the ideas with much relief that lacked my passion and fit my purpose.   You cannot fake interest in ideas or projects – in the end the passion behind the “why” must be authentic.

Many individuals start businesses to escape the Deferred Life Plan, seeking to find any idea that will generate enough money to grant their escape.   Just like Lenny, a character in book, focusing on the escape without the passion will lead you nowhere.   Investors seek big ideas with a soul – an idea that can grow.

Startups must be careful not to succumb to peer pressure to appease potential investors or advisors; ask yourself is rejecting the passion behind the “why” worth the funding?

Passion keeps the motivation of the big idea alive.

Ideas need passion.  Think of Steve Jobs, he is passionate about Apple and the products the company creates.  His energy and determination are evident in the company’s actions and in his speeches.   Is your company passionate about the new product idea?  Can you rally the team around the idea and generate enough excitement to develop and launch the product?

Is the team willing to make the commitment to develop the product?  Or is this idea an afterthought or a reaction to competitive activity in the marketplace? Creating new products based on ideas that are reactive rather than ideas that solve a problem can potentially cost the company more time and money in the long run.  Be mindful of herd mentally when developing new products.

Developing products takes time and energy.  Without a strong internal drive from employees, the end product will mostly likely be substandard; thus generating less revenue.   When a company is passionate about its products these feelings can influence consumer buying decisions.  Think of Apple, the products and their loyal customer base.  Now, think about companies that are not passionate and do not care about the “why” behind the idea. Ask yourself which product or service would you rather buy?

Passion matters when developing new products for the marketplace, lack of interest always comes through in product design and development.

I believe it is important to spend time thinking about the roots of your idea.  Why are you considering developing the idea into a product or service?  What is the real driving force behind the idea?

Like a tree, an idea must grow and develop a strong root system to survive the elements; without a strong base the idea much like a tree cannot survive.   Define and write down the specific features that make your idea strong.  These features are much like the roots of a tree.  Think about the product’s features and the benefits they provide consumers.   Are these benefits strong enough to entice consumers to purchase your product instead of the competition?

Be honest with yourself and your business partners.  Does your idea really fill a need, solve a problem or fill a gap?  We’ve all been watching the news about BP and the inability to cap the well.  I know that BP would spend a very large sum of money to quickly solve their problem.

After examining the roots of your idea, if you believe the roots are not strong enough to survive the marketplace, consider other opportunities for the idea or a different market segments to ensure your idea is successful.

I finished reading “Rework” authored by the founders of 37Signals last week.   The book is a fast read and has small digestible mini chapters; which I loved because you can quickly grab the concept.   I believe the concepts and ideas are a great stepping stone to building a strong and profitable company.   I highly recommend that you find the time to read the book.

Chapters that I liked the best:

Make Dent in the Universe – make sure that when you are launching a new business that it has meaning and will truly benefit the end user.  Ask yourself  “does it make a dent in other people’s lives”?  If no, then reconsider what you are doing.   There must be passion behind the idea or you will not have the drive to move the idea forward.

Start a business not a startup – the authors’ stress the importance of earning profit.  IF your company is not profitable it is a hobby.  This point is often missed by startups who believe they can operate forever without earning a profit.    I monitor D5’s profitability very closely and make sure that the company stays profitable.   The life span of a company is short if there is no profit; eventually the money will run out.

Embrace Constraints - love it!  New businesses always have constraints even large existing businesses have constraints.   Learn to build with less is the message in the book.  By learning to work with fewer resources, forces you to focus on what really matters and to make do with what resources you have.   There is no room for waste.     I believe that when companies are wasteful or not mindful of the money being spent, it is no different than throwing money and profit out the window.

Start at the Epicenter- must drill down to the core of the idea before you launch.    With so much information available today it is easy to become side tracked, especially when you are starting a new business.   I believe you must make sure the company stays focused on what its core offering is in the market place and not lose focus in the details.  Many times I see start ups so focused on the bark of the tree, that they cannot see that the forest is being cut down and eliminated.

Read the book, dog tag the best sections and use the information to build a profitable company.

When Luke is struggling to learn the Jedi ways Yoda tells him to “unlearn what you have learned”, this quote stayed with me.  Many times when starting a business what you have learned in the past may not be the best course of action today.    While running on January 1st, the quote just stuck in my head.  Unlearn what you have learned…..was there something I was missing that could make my young company better.  Was there something I learned in the past that was making things worse instead of better but yet I had not thought of unlearning the knowledge.    I started to feel liberated at the thought of letting go knowledge that was not working and exploring the possibilities of unlearning.

As I continue to revise the website, I started to think about what knowledge has been learned by startups that needs to be unlearned.   Some marketing consultants will tell you that if a company puts too much information on a website, clients will not need your services.   This learned knowledge bothered me because I want to share with our clients and startups valuable information about starting a business.   Yet, I believe the clients will still call us as they need assistance beyond what we have shared on the website.    The information posted is one dimential and many times clients need guidance to understand the information.

I also considered the quote from a personal perspective as being a startup many times your personal and business life merge into one where it is hard to determine where one part of you stops and the other part of you begins.  Was there something that I had learned in my personal life that needed to be unlearn that would bring about a positive affect on the business.    Cornbread dressing came to mind, it is a learned tradition that has been in our family forever; however, cooking and eating the dish this past holiday did not seem right.   Something seemed different, the food and the setting did not fit our urban lifestyle and food taste.  Again, our family has always eaten this dish but never discussed the glaring fact that it no longer fit our lifestyle.    Think about the quote, think about what you have learned in the past that may need to be unlearned.

May the force be with you.