Eureka!! Idea-theft vs. Idea revolution?

At various moments in my academic and professional career, I would get eerie warnings about being protective of one’s own ideas. Getting credit is paramount. The notes of caution would often refer to a vague but tragic consequence of the boogeyman by way of your next door neighbor, close colleague, or “trusted” somebody snatching your idea away and gaining universal recognition for it, while you wallow in self-pity. And I have to say, that if you think this way, this consequence feels very very real.

I saw the movie Flash of Genius the other day based on a true story of Robert Kearns, a college professor/part-time inventor who fought for decades before he got the recognition he deserved for his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. The frustration he and his family felt was palpable but all I could think about was: you basically lost everything else important in your life so that you could say that you created that, that it was your idea? Was it worth the fight?

So with all of this dancing in my mind, and my ideas stashed away safely in my pillow case, it came to me as a surprise when I read an email forward from a Zak Shwarzman asking everyone in socially-conscious Web land to post their brilliant social innovation ideas on his blog with no type of return except that maybe someone would successfully run with it to the promise land. The premise being that ideas are useless without the proper execution.

This got me thinking. Is he right? What is the intrinsic value of an idea, innovation, or invention? Doesn’t that type of creativity have value of its own, or is it still meaningless without implementation? What about the whole dizzying world of intellectual property? Shouldn’t we be sharing our thoughts and ideas freely if ultimately, it is in the name of the betterment of our communities, and maybe even ourselves? Ben Franklin did. Am I smoking something?

As I started reading the steady stream of social ideas and innovations, and the flurry of excited conversation and discussion between bloggers on Zak’s blog, I started getting giddy and energized too. How cool is this? Can I play too? Wouldn’t it be awesome to see someone with the means, make your damn good idea happen? And suddenly I dusted off a throwback thought from childhood which the idea-theft warnings and years of “experience” had suppressed which was: maybe the person is actually more important than the idea. An individual with a good idea is most likely destined for more than just one good idea in their lives. Contrary to the popular world view, the ability to generate original thoughts and ideas is not something incredibly elusive or possessed by a golden few. It’s just a matter of believing that at your core, and knowing that no one can steal that which you have always possessed. Molay steps down from her soap box. Now that’s a good idea!