CONCLUSION

YOUR IDEA

I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of “Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,” and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.

MARISSA MAYER, COFOUNDER, SUNSHINE

Getting started. Does it sound odd to end a book with “Getting started”?

One of the biggest hurdles to doing anything is getting started. In her book The Creative Habit, choreographer Twyla Tharp says she starts her day with a ritual workout; by making it a routine, she has habitualized the workout.¹ Make getting started a ritual. My friend Richard, a literature professor and novelist, always writes the first sentence of a new paragraph before he ends his writing for the day so that he will have somewhere to start the next day.

You have what you need to use the Three Gs. The New Art of Ideas works: Set a goal. Determine if there’s a gap you can fill. See if there would be a gain.

The Three Gs of my ideation system help you break it down. Don’t worry about all three at once. Take it G by G.

If you’re having difficulty setting a goal, make a list of five goals that interest you the most—small or big or unconventional. Then circle three that make your heart beat a little faster. Don’t think about the others anymore.

Now of those three goals, determine which one might have a gap and a gain. No idea is too small if there’s a gain in it for someone, society, creatures, or our planet.

Once you’ve formed a goal and realized a gap and a gain, you’re on your way to a worthwhile idea.

The New Art of Ideas Handy Checklist

You can use the Three Gs in any order. A goal isn’t the only entry point for an idea. You can start by noticing a gap and move forward from there. Or you may observe a gain, something beneficial to individuals, society, or our planet, and move ahead from that point. The Three Gs framework is nonlinear and fluid. The goal, gap, and gain influence each other—they are not siloed. The Three Gs also allow you to backtrack and reassess.

Start with a Goal

Goal + Gap + Gain → Worthwhile Idea

Set a goal. Think about what you want to do. Your goal is not your idea—it’s only the start.

Find a gap. See if your goal will fill a void, a need that has not yet been met.

Determine a gain, which provides a benefit to individuals, a community, society, creatures big or small, or our planet.

Start with a Gap

Gap + Gain + Goal → Worthwhile Idea

If you notice a gap, find out if there is a need to fill that void.

Determine what the gain would be and how many people it would serve or how it would benefit society or our planet.

Set your goal. Think about what you want to achieve.

Start with a Gain

Gain + Gap + Goal → Worthwhile Idea

You observe a gain, the potential good in something—a benefit for individuals, a community, society, creatures, or our planet.

Determine if the benefit fills a gap, a need that has not yet been met, whether in a sector or a discipline or for an underserved audience.

Set a goal. Think about what you want to accomplish.

Employing the Three Gs should allow you to generate many ideas and even better ideas.

Your Ideas

An idea doesn’t exist until you form it. You might set a goal and then stop for a while only to come back to it later. That’s OK. You might change your goal, and that’s OK too. You’ve read examples of people who’ve done that with great outcomes. Even with the Three Gs, generating an idea takes effort and focus. Once you’ve generated an idea, put it on screen or on paper. Put it out in the world—you’ve built something.

Ideas are constructions. Ideas are seeds—your idea might inspire someone else. Ideas often connect to other ideas, and they connect us to each other.

I look forward to hearing about how you’ve used the Three Gs to generate your ideas. Because worthwhile ideas can alter the course of human progress.

In conclusion, here are your action steps:

Think about using the Three Gs to generate, crystallize, or unlock an idea. Take a look at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations: (1) No Poverty; (2) Zero Hunger; (3) Good Health and Well-being; (4) Quality Education; (5) Gender Equality; (6) Clean Water and Sanitation; (7) Affordable and Clean Energy; (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth; (9) Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; (10) Reduced Inequalities; (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities; (12) Responsible Consumption and Production; (13) Climate Action; (14) Life below Water; (15) Life on Land; (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions; and (17) Partnerships for the Goals.² Keep them in mind as you go about your daily life. These goals set forth by the U.N. are grand; please think of them as general categories that your specific, smaller-scale goal might fall under.

Answering these questions will set you on a personally rewarding journey to unlock your creativity:

•Can you identify one U.N. Sustainable Development Goal that could match with a goal of your own? With a gap? With a benefit to people, animals, or our planet?

•Can you be patient, taking it G by G to generate or crystallize your idea?

•Can you find a way to get started—for example, make notes while having your morning coffee or tea?

•Does a goal you’re thinking about make your heart beat a little faster?

Be a mindful listener. Great leaders listen carefully. Great teachers listen intently to their students’ questions and concerns. John Maeda, American designer, executive, and technologist, recommends story listening. “What I’ve seen is a leader doesn’t start with storytelling, they start with story listening,” Maeda said at a Future of Storytelling session that I facilitated.

When you actively listen, not only might someone’s comment spark an idea, but you get to know how people feel and what they think. Listening to your target audience often leads to an insight. In general, listening just makes you a better leader and nicer to be around.

If you found this book helpful, I encourage you to connect with me via my website, LinkedIn, or social media. Please consider posting a reader review on your favorite bookselling site. And I am thankful to you for wanting to use the Three Gs to bring worthwhile ideas into the world.

All the best wishes to you for success!

NOTES: YOUR IDEAS

Keep going. Here’s why. Your worthwhile idea will…

•make a difference for the better

•inspire someone else’s thinking

•make people’s lives healthier, safer, easier, more joyful…