This year I came to some harsh realizations about my business.
For context, I had 3 arms to my business:
- The Shuuk - testing ground for the world’s coolest new ideas
- Innovation Quotient Edge (IQE) - proprietary assessment that measures and crystallizes people’s natural innovation strengths so they can discover their Unique Innovator Profile and learn how to innovate on demand
- LaunchStreet - top innovation online and live programs - the catalyst for organizations and people looking to outperform the competition, outmaneuver the marketplace and create a massive competitive advantage by leveraging it’s more powerful resource, people and a culture of innovation
As most of us do, I spent December doing an assessment on my business. What worked, what didn’t. As I dug into the numbers I realized something very painful. While LaunchStreet and IQE were killing it, my first born, The Shuuk, had been flat for years (insert tears of sadness here). I mean, this was my first born. My passion. Watch this short video where I share my realization and conclusion. It involves pull-ups, cupcakes and super scientific charts.
Yes, we've helped 83 inventors, and gotten many inventions on The TODAY SHOW, NBC 9News, Huffington POST, INC Magazine, and into the hands of early adopters across the globe. Some of our inventions made it into big retailers like Super Rope Cinch in Home Depot, BeActive in Walgreens, Disruptus in toy stores across the US.
But like you, I have high expectations, and to be honest that didn't even come close to what I had in mind. I missed my goal by 582 inventions. That's a lot. It hurts, but it's the truth. I needed to let go of my baby.
This is how I learned about the Darwinism of Business. The idea unable to thrive (The Shuuk) in its environment went away and the ideas that are thriving (LaunchStreet & IQE) in their environments keep going. They were spin offs of The Shuuk, yet were performing way better.
Thinking of what happened as natural selection gave me a hint of relief. It’s not failure, it’s the natural evolution of things. This is true in nature and, I just learned, it’s true in business. And our environment, the marketplace, will tell you what’s going to make it. The Shuuk, which was about helping launch innovative products was barely surviving, while LaunchStreet & IQE, which are about launching innovative people were thriving. So time to let go of the barely surviving idea.
I often see innovators, entrepreneurs and people inside organizations, hang on to a dead idea too long. It’s personal and you know it has potential, but it just doesn’t work they way it should. Let go (that’s me whispering it into your ear).
In fact, big businesses do it all the time. Coke got rid of New Coke, Ford stopped making the Ford Probe, Google stopped their Glasses project, and so on. Part of what makes those companies successful is their willingness to pursue what’s working and put to rest what isn’t. Think of your favorite restaurant. Remember that appetizer they had on the menu that’s no longer there? It didn’t sell, so it didn’t stay.
So, the next time you are concerned about failing or closing the door on an idea, remember it could simply be the natural flow of things and will most likely lead to the sun shining bright on something better.