Ideas are the driving force of a successful business

Some of the simplest ideas have produced the most significant impact on our everyday lives. Where would we be without cellular phones, DVR TV, instant oatmeal, puncture resistant trash bags, the IPod or Facebook? All of these products began with an idea and resulted in financial profit and in some cases shifts in our cultural norms. Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Idea Conference which helped broaden my perspective on how recent successful product and service ideas came to fruition as well as how they are currently impacting our marketplace.

The Idea Conference is hosted by Advertising Age each year in New York City and brings together a diverse group of innovative industry leaders. This year’s seminar was focused on idea reinvention and maximizing the velocity of your ideas. The list of speakers included expertise in music production, culinary arts, automotive industry, technology, architecture, food media and craft beer production. Each speaker brought a modern perspective on what it means to maximize your best ideas.

The overriding seminar take-away was one I believe we can all benefit from. The road ahead isn’t in the rearview mirror thus we each need to challenge ourselves to put the ideation process at the forefront of our business minds. Creativity helps us all live a little lighter on our business feet.