Observation inspired by “Art of the Idea” of John Hunt: “You can put a lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”.
If something is fundamentally bad or wrong, it’s pointless trying to embroider it with good ideas. If the premise is false, no amount of great thinking is going to change that.
Although this is patently a useless exercise, it is employed endlessly all around the world by just about everybody. The reason is pretty transparent; it’s much easier to ask for “new ideas” than it is to change what is systemically incorrect. It also shifts the target away from the real problem to all those lousy ideas surrounding it.
As the world becomes more competitive and shrill in its desperate attempt to attract people’s attention, hype is being confused more and more with an idea. Hype can be memorable, even extraordinary in the moment, but it’s not built to last. By its very nature’ it must evaporate as the next blast of buzz appears.
Instead of packaging a smart idea so it can become more successful, the packaging itself becomes the idea. It’s like throwing newspaper onto a fire. You have a brief moment of pyrotechnics and then you are left with nothing.
There is no greater demotivation than calling a group of people together and then telling them what and where they must think. The good news is, the exact opposite is also true. The rewards of an honest discussion can be beyond measure.
