Getting StartedLeadership

Taking responsibility for your idea

Paper boats in a line with one red one out in front

At Mum's Garage, we help people turn their ideas into businesses. We've spent a lot of time understanding the catalysts for turning someone with "just an idea", into someone whose properly executing on the idea.

 

One of the shifts that give an idea value is when the holder takes responsibility for making it happen. This makes a significant difference to a persons ability to execute. Because taking responsibility is an important part of the transition into leadership.

Without responsibility, an idea will struggle to evolve and the business will struggle to grow.

What does it mean to take responsibility?

Part of taking responsibility is exposing yourself to risks and consequences of a decision, in order to gain the upside.

Deep down, the fundamental driver that stops most people from taking action on an idea is the fear of failing and losing what they've currently got. Without understanding the potential upside with a degree of certainty, there is not a compelling enough driver to counteract fear and drive action.

Only when the perceived upside outweighs the risks, will a sensible person take responsibility for an idea and commit to making it happen.

But you won't know the upside of your idea with certainty until you've spent time validating it.  And you won't know the real risks until you've done the work to understand them. Often this is why people just sit with an idea and don't commit to making it happen. They're stuck in limbo because they haven't done the work to be able to assess whether it's an idea or worth committing to. 

Do the work. 

Take action to understand yourself, the value of your ideas and what's required to make a business successful, so you can make a decision and take responsibility with confidence.

You can ease your mind by understanding that you don't need to fully commit to your idea, until you know it's (a) something that you want to spend a significant amount of time working on, and (b) you have a better idea of whether it's going to give you the outcome that you want for a business. Once you have a better picture of the potential of your ideas, and the requirements for building a successful business, it will become easier to commit to making it happen. 

So maybe you just need to take the next step, to be in a better position to see what's in front of you and whether it's a pathway that you want to commit to. Once you decide it's worth it, then be bold and take responsibility for making it happen. 

 

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