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Entrepreneur, July, 2000

What's the point of having great ideas if you're not going to do anything about them?

Are you creative? Most entrepreneurs are--or at least they think they are. After all, when you started out, wasn't it a burst of creativity that got you going? And now doesn't it take daily doses of creativity to keep you growing?

Well, actually, probably not. As I turned on the TV first thing this morning (yes, I know it's a bad habit), I heard some man (I'm sorry, it was 4:55 a.m. and I have no idea who he was) define being creative as having ideas, while being innovative, he said, means implementing your ideas.

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That might sound simplistic, but it's really not. Obviously, you can't innovate unless you first create. You need to have ideas before you do something with them. But (even more obviously) the reverse is not necessarily true. It's all too easy to create and then let your ideas lay there like rotting fruit.

Unfortunately, that's the fate of all too many entrepreneurs. Don't you become one of them. Maybe it's time to give your company an innovation checkup. Are you coasting on your past reputation? Do you (or your employees) often use the phrase "But nobody does it that way"? When's the last time you came up with a good idea and then actually did something about it? Or are you doing things the same way you've always done them because you're afraid to break out of your comfort zone?

If you're not really satisfied with your answers to the above questions, do something about it NOW. The business world is very different today (now there's an understatement) than it was even a few years ago. These days, when so much moves at the speed of the Net, if you hesitate for a second you truly can lose. And worse, you can lose so fast you won't have any idea what's hit you until it's way too late.

Don't confuse being active with being proactive, though. Whirling dervishes may move around, but they don't really accomplish anything. Somebody once told me, "Thinking is highly overrated." I wouldn't go quite that far, but if you don't act on your thoughts you'll wither--or at best you'll never grow.

Here's an easy way to remember: TAP. Think. Act. Prosper.

RIEVA LESONSKY

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Business Services Industry

Make It Happen

Entrepreneur, July, 2000

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