I suspect that everyone would like to develop better ideas, solutions or opportunities.
And I imagine that everyone would like to develop better options, decisions and actions.
Just like we would all like to deliver a better performance at work or in our relationships.
Or simply to become a better person!
But what do we mean by the word better?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, better is ‘more advantageous or effective’.
So lets use this as a base and expand the definition to include:
- Better than what you have developed before
- Better than what the customer or user expects
- Better than the competition
Viewed from this perspective it’s why athletes and sports teams strive to be better – everyday.
Rather than best practice. This implies a destination rather than a never ending journey or quest to be better.
The better sweet spot
My proposition is that a better idea, solution or growth opportunity is one that is both efficient and creative.
Many of the out of the box techniques for example may produce ideas that are very creative but unworkable.
In a similar way, you can develop efficient ideas but are no different from the competition for example.
The emphasis here is on the AND.
Being efficient and creative (i.e. in some way new or different).
And with better you can be a little bit better or a whole lot better.
It provides a more attainable goal than shooting for a disruptive idea for example.
The point is that you are better than the competition offering, what you have done in the past and what the user expects.
A better approach – Switch Thinking.
The idea behind switch thinking is that you can (as the name suggests) switch your mode of thinking.
By doing so you can generate different insights, ideas, solutions or opportunities.
But then you can switch back to your usual (i.e. efficient) way of thinking and start to evaluate these different ideas e.g. Does it make sense to the user? Can we make money? Can we deliver it?
But you can also try and connect the usual ideas with the different ones.
Think breakfast and lunch – BRUNCH.
This connection might just lead to a better idea.
One that is both efficient or valuable and has some degree of difference.
Being able to develop better ideas, solutions and growth opportunities I suspect is the goal of most leaders, groups and teams.
A disruptive business idea or model has its place.
But for most people, most of the time a better idea has a never-ending appeal.
A continuous supply of better ideas, solutions or opportunities has continued appeal to employees and customers, less risk and encourages your clients or partners to give you their business again and again.
The key message – switch to better!