Max Dumais

If, when I hear of an idea, my response is ‘I wish I thought of that’, I know it’s a great idea.

Networking with purpose

How many times have you uttered the phrase: “Great minds think alike”? When my response to hearing an idea goes something like this – ‘I wish I’d thought of that!’ – I know it’s a good idea.

The good news is that just because someone else has already thought of that, doesn’t mean that’s the end of it from your point of view.

“Why didn’t I think of YouTube” is not nearly as powerful as “Why can’t I use the same sort of video clips to sell my own products”. Technology now exists to compress video clips down to sizes that can be broadcast to a Pocket PC or a PDA.

Imagine the time saving for a real estate agent to walk through a property with a hand-held digital camera and then being able to send it down to a number of prospective buyers’ phones.

The first piece of technology in dealing with any issue, however, is putting the thought into it. Once the underlying concept to a good idea is clear, it is then easy to come up with other variations that move along the same sort of tracks.

The concept of broadcasting messages can lead to a number of applications. The number of singers that are finding their way to fame through applications like MySpace are growing in number every day.

If you are not in the video or broadcasting business yourself, perhaps there is someone in that line of business who may be looking for just the type of content you can provide. What you might take for granted might be a complete eye-opener for others, and knowing about you could be the start of something big!

E-learning, e-commerce and even e-relationships are becoming common terms in our language. What do you do that you can teach others? How can you streamline your business model in ways that help you and can potentially help others? What type of networking can be made easier with email broadcasts, blogging, e-zines, video-phoning or Skype conferencing calls – just to mention a few.

Tip of the week: Cross fertilisation of ideas need only be a small step away from cross selling. Scan the businesses in your area that show that they are thinking along the same lines as you do in making a business. Negotiate some reciprocal deals that provide mutual benefit and at the same time provide your respective customer bases with an added value service.

Thinkcoach Max Dumais set up and ran Dr Edward de Bono’s institute for its first six years. His company Ahead of the Game is all about applying processes and frameworks for individuals and companies to think their way to success.

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