What is an Idea, and How Much is it Worth?

An idea is not some pink cloud that looks like a bunny. The Greek word “Eidos” originally meant “form, shape”, and that is what a real idea is.

A good idea doesn’t suggest: “Wouldn’t it be cool if cars could fly?”; a good idea tells you how to make cars fly. An idea without a clear understanding of what it needs to become real is just a fantasy. Just like a will without action is just a wish. An idea is worth as much as its realism or realizability. But that does not mean an idea is worth nothing until it is realized.

Businesses are based on business ideas and communication services live from interactive ideas. The more realizable the idea, the more it’s worth. How much exactly? Hard to say, as it is all in the idea. A designer without ideas is a vain technician; a business man without business ideas is a bureaucrat. A marketer without ideas is a sleazy joker.

Ideas are based on other ideas. The question is: What do you do with your source? Do you develop it into something new? Do you make it clearer, simpler, do you add value and make it into something of your own or do you just rip it off?