Destination Big Idea

It’s not very often that I am moved to tears or in fact to pull over in my car whilst listening to the radio – for a brief moment to compose myself! That happened to me a few weeks ago when I heard the final words of Henry Worsley.

I can’t profess to have followed his career or indeed known a great deal about his expedition, but what it starkly clear is the sheer audaciousness of his ambition and the complete and utter singlemindedness he must have needed to take on such a monumental endeavour.

When I listened to his words I couldn’t help but feel humbled by this but what it also started me thinking about is how we set goals in our lives, in our businesses and is a goal ever too big?

Having always been a goal setter I value the process of setting out the challenge and working hard to achieve it. Starting a business, running a marathon, writing a book they are all born from the same feeling of wanting to make your mark, the drive to achieve something extraordinary. 

Let’s face it, we can’t make monumental steps every day – so what can we do to take some of the best aspects of these endeavours into our everyday lives?

Be Brave – OK so sometimes you might want to bury your head in the sand and accept the status quo – but being brave feels good and it can set you apart from those in an organisation that want a quiet life. Being brave should not be mistaken for being frivolous – it should always be grounded by solid reasoning but with a touch of gut feel!

Gather support – There’s no doubt that buy-in does wonders for any idea. Talk to people, go in search of a coffee or an after work beer. Understand how your idea or initiative effects them or how they would approach it – sometimes this leads to great nuggets of information and the endorsement ripple effect.

Prepare to sacrifice – the old adage ‘If it’s worth doing…’ is so incredibly relevant here. You will have to dig deep, there will be late nights, you will have set backs – but see them as part of your journey – in fact if you embrace the tough stuff the war stories will be far more interesting 5/10 years from now!

Take advice – it’s easy to surround yourself with those that will flatter you and tell you what you want to hear. Challenge your ideas – be prepared to hear constructive criticism, go to those younger, smarter and more connected than you – be vulnerable – after all if you haven’t researched the angles – you’ll be sure to miss something!

Be thankful – no single idea, concept or challenge ever gets off the ground with one person doing all of the heavy lifting. Along the way there will be many people who have helped you – make sure you stop to share a thank you, acknowledge their input or reward their actions.

So next time you set off on your own personal journey to destination ‘Big Idea’ – raise a salute to those that dare to think Big – for to fail is not to try at all.. To find out more about BPS World's big ideas contact Natalie Spearing on natalie.spearing@bps-world.com or 01628 857334