Ferodo had got a solution, it was crystal clear, his team, a handful of talent, had reached his objective some months back.  There were in fact many innovations that had been proposed to solve a particular problem, which if implemented could make quite a difference to his product and the customers who really wanted it.  His team had been congratulated, along with other teams. So it surprised him that from that glorious day he was congratulated in winter, to now – late spring, nothing had happened.  Nothing at all.  He went back to his day job, and so did all the other team members.

recently heard through the grapevine that his CEO Galarbha had asked, “so how is it going then  ?”

Ferodo said to himself, and his ex team mates : “You got to be kidding me” what is going … theres no budget.. theres no project team.. “, “why ask this, doesn’t he know we all went back to our day jobs ?”

And so a new challenge.. how to get the idea out of his room into everyone else’s room.  He had not budget, but others did.  He had no team, but others did. The innovation was also not in his area of responsibility, actually belonging to another department.

And so Ferodo started on a new journey, one which took him through many parts of the massive company, one where everyone had an opinion, an experience, a reason why they did what they did, and all these seemingly conspired to prevent his idea from becoming a reality.

So having developed an idea, he had thought of the Michaelangelo, and Picasso, and others who had innovated.  Even Miles Davis came to mind.  These people had ideas, but they also had an incredible sense of voice and identity, which allowed them to be able to see an expression of the idea through others. To modify, to adapt, and to be able to express the right idea at the right time, at the leading edge of man’s desire to improve or move on.

Ferodo decided to start to work the idea through the system.  Conference call after conference call, stupid email after stupid email, but gradually as he stepped out of the innovation room, into the world at large, he found that many others had also thought of his idea, others had also come to the same conclusions.  But occasionally ideas have to come at the right time, to fill the right dreams, and the right ordering to make it all work.  Holding onto that idea, but getting out of the innovation room into the real world, really makes a tough test for an idea.  If the idea is good, it can withstand the winds of opinion and experience of the people that have to take it forward.  If it is really good, then those people outside the room will be convinced it was their idea all along, and now is their chance to take part.

It dawned on Ferodo as well, that even though others felt it was their idea, usually only part of it was, actually the only guy with all of it in his head was Ferodo.  Once again thinking of key designers and artists in particular, he realized he just had to keep the threads going and eventually something great would result.  But it’s been a while now, and Ferodo cannot even remember where his innovation room was located.  He never went back to it.  But his customers and his CEO are happy with the result.