The Iceberg Approach To INSTANT Strategy

Trevor writes:

Following on from INSTANT Strategy - Think It, Plan It, Do It! the thought struck me, on my swim, that INSTANT Strategy as a concept perhaps has serious validity in that the end-consumer of any end-product of an idea really responds to what he/she sees or likes that stimulates their buying emotions.

In other words, my thinking is that consumers are simply looking for what appeals to them and most probably couldn't care less about how much work has gone in behind the research and development of the product.

Much like an eco-traveller on a personal mission to see the wonders of the icebergs in Alaska. What do they really go to see, what's above the water... or what's below?

I believe that they go to see what is above the water.

The added importance of the iceberg principle is captured in this further picture of what it is that sinks the 'Titanic' (i.e. the lookout didn't see the tip of the iceberg in time - that little tip seen in time could have saved the Titanic).

So INSTANT Strategy as a concept may offer a similar reasoning to that of the Anthropic principle which essentially suggests that any process of observation - as for observing the reason for life on earth - is much like the course of a movie, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

And that we the observers are at the 'end' of the movie which can be rewound to see what came before.

So what if INSTANT Strategy offered us a simple insight or short-cut process as to what the end of the strategy movie should be (i.e. what our end product looks like to the emotionally involved consumers)? Would it make it simpler to drop all the complexities of strategic planning in our explanations of what we want to achieve?

Aaaaah... ain't I stupid... the penny has just dropped... it's what Steven Covey talked of when he said: 'Begin with the end in mind'. That's where INSTANT Strategy should begin.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790 - www.innercircleforum.com
trevor@innercircleforum.com

INSTANT Strategy - Think It, Plan It, Do It!

Trevor writes:

Following on from my thoughts expressed in simplify, Simplify, SIMPLIFY ..1 ..2 ..3 , I have found myself beginning to apply what I have been terming to myself as 'INSTANT Strategy' principles to simplify the initial scoping of some complex strategy thinking for a pending joint venture deal.

While swimming at the gym this morning (where I do a lot of my thinking) the mantra kept going through my mind: 'Think It, Plan It, Do It', 'Think It, Plan It, Do It', 'Think It, Plan It, Do It'. After 40 lengths of that... it starts to stick.. ;-)

It just strikes me that if one wanted a simple ..1 ..2 ..3 description of the term INSTANT Strategy then Think It, Plan It, Do It does a pretty good job.

Having then also written If You Think It, It's Probably Already Been THUNKED , it was natural for me to go and do an advanced Google search to see how many sites refer to the term 'instant strategy'... and the answer is: '..about 1,880'. And surprisingly, the same advanced search on "think it plan it do it" unveils only '..about 80' sites.

Which means that the two terms appear pretty rarely in the tons and tons of intellectual thinking and concept collaborations on the web. So we might be onto something here.

As a back-up, the thought came to me that 'Think It, Map It, Do It' might lend a visual connotation to the above phrase, although I do believe that 'Think It, Plan It, Do It' needs very little explanation for almost everybody. 'Map It' might need more explanation as it can lead to overly-intellectual discussion on landscaping and business models.

The closest links that refer to the above 'Think It,..' phrase are http://think-plan-do.net/ ; http://www.tipidi.com/ ; Joomla! by Think IT, Plan IT, Do IT Enterprises, LLC. Also found this comment by one Bill Castell who talks of: 'We are adept at real-time decision-making, instant strategy, and sound-bite communication..'.

I presume that he is talking of the apparent need for speed in an instant-coffee, instant-everything society... which aligns with my gut feel that people will enjoy the fleshing out of a concept called INSTANT Strategy.

Remind me to talk about the 'iceberg approach to instant strategy' thought that hit me on about my 25th length of the pool.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790 - www.innercircleforum.com
trevor@innercircleforum.com

If You Think It, It's Probably Already Been THUNKED

Trevor writes:

Found someone who thinks as I do... interesting read.

See Mosh Pit as Innovation Model - here's an extract:

as CDBaby's Derek Sivers put in in this post: "It’s so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas. (People who want me to sign an NDA to tell me the simplest idea.)To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions."

It's our implementation, not our idea that matters.

Even if we are the only ones to have a specific new and protectable "idea" (unlikely), the moment we reveal it, everyone else will have it too. The barrier to entry today is way too low to use "intellectual property" as a main advantage. And all too often, we think we have a unique idea only to find that others are -- independently -- doing the same things.

I've been toying with this slogan in my head for a while:

If You Think It, It's Probably Already Been THUNKED!

In other words, don't get to precious about your ideas... rather concentrate on researching their viability (look for the lessons from others who are thinking along the same path) and implementing them sooner than anyone else.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790 - www.innercircleforum.com
trevor@innercircleforum.com

simplify, Simplify, SIMPLIFY ..1 ..2 ..3

Trevor writes:

From this post - MAD 7. It Only Takes 'HALF-A-DOZEN' Things! (extract below) - I am reminded that it is all to easy to fall into the trap of adding unnecessary complexity to ideas, projects, strategies, et al, that should be as simple as ...1 ..2 ..3

Too many people look to make the simple things in life too complex to understand.

Yes, most often it takes only a few things... 1, 2, or 3 things... just a 'half-a-dozen' things to ensure success in most projects.

I am resolving to simplify every idea, project, strategy I have into a 'simple as ..1 ..2 ..3' graphic presentation.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790 - www.innercircleforum.com
trevor@innercircleforum.com