I have ideas I haven't even thought of yet!

I have ideas I haven’t even thought of yet. I had a college professor who used this phrase quite negatively. He meant the guy who really had no ideas but considered every thought he had a real jewel. But I love this thought and think it expresses a certain pressure that energetic creative people feel – that in the right situation given the right information they will generate ideas that solve life’s problems. As organizations are turning increasing to collaboration solutions enabled by “web 20” technologies to bring people together, I have great optimism that we will see increased productivity from folks who have ideas they haven’t even thought of yet. Why? Because well-organized collaboration has the potential of fulfilling the predicate in my interpretation - in the right situation given the right information they will generate ideas that solve life’s problems. Collaboration technologies have the potential to create the right situation –the right problem being posed, the right people listening, the right timing, the right community to tackle something. Collaboration technologies have the potential to make the right information available – that’s central to content management systems. The good news is, even if my cynical professor was right, increased collaboration will increase productivity because real collaboration creates a kind of filter for ideas. If these folks really don’t have any ideas they won’t have anything to collaborate about! . But if my optimistic perspective is accurate, better technology applied with the right collaboration principles should enable these frustrated contributors to “maximize their potential” – and we will all benefit from that.