Big Ideas Are Not Always Better
Thinking small can lead to BIG value
Everyone is looking for “THE Big Idea”, the idea that will be so innovative that a business practically runs itself, or an idea that will solve all problems for a certain demographic. By no means should people stop thinking “big”, but people should also start thinking “small”.
2 Examples of Thinking Small
How NASA Solved a $100 Million Problem for $5
NASA was running into an issue where the crew inside of the launch vehicle, at the time simulated, were unable to see their monitors due the vibrations caused by the final rocket booster sequence. As the Gizmodo article states
“If the astronauts can’t read, they can’t do their jobs. If they can’t do their jobs, no more mission.”
In response, the Human Factors Division of NASA began to experiment and create prototypes to solve the problem. However many of these ideas would require years of work and resources to fully develop, approximately $100 Million worth. However one small, and extremely clever idea is what provided a solution to the vibration problem. They simply strobed the monitors in perfect sync with the vibration of the crew to make it visible. That solution was simple, effective, and inexpensive (video). That idea was small enough to execute at NASA’s convenience, but innovative enough to small the problem.
How $40 Saved NeedFeed 9 Months and $2 Million
NeedFeed was creating a “social purchase sharing app” where people were able to share and see purchases made within their network. They created some static prototypes to validate their ideas, only to discover that people gave over-thought reactions to a fake experience.
In order to inspire real reactions they decided to not build the application, which would be costly, but use a Greasemonkey script to simulate a fully functional app. They ended up offshoring (a whole other debate altogether) the development of the script which cost them $40. The script inserted fake content using their friends names and images to create a “real” experience.
Turned out the “real” experience created by the Greasemonkey script led to real hate of the application. While they were able to pivot to new ideas after $40, their two main competitors raised approximately $10 million each and fully developed their applications. Unfortunately for the competitors they ended up coming to the same conclusion as NeedFeed at a much higher price.
Aim for “Just Right”
While it appears that NeedFeed no longer exists (do correct me if I’m wrong or if they were purchased), they do demonstrate a valuable lesson. Just because one is able to think small and move forward, that doesn’t mean they’ll be successful as a big idea is still required for success.
NASA’s, undoubtably intelligent, team could have easily gone with their initial sophisticated solutions, yet they did not allow their egos to push away such a simple fix. It’s all too common for brilliant people to brush aside things that seem below their abilities even when it’s more than appropriate for the situation.
Ultimately there are many factors that determine the success of any project, but it’s important to realize that there needs to be a balance in how things are approached. There needs to be a grand idea that will inspire a team to reach for an end goal, but small ideas along the way that direct the project to something realistic and valuable.
