A number of years ago I came up with a pretty good business idea. I was confident it would work. Unfortunately, I told myself, I was not in a position to argue for the plan before my company’s leadership. Getting the meeting, establishing the need, and making a convincing case would be hard. Too hard, I decided.
I passed the details of this scheme along to a coworker. He liked it. I think he loved it.
Just a couple of years later, after we both moved on, I spoke to this (now former) colleague again. He had news. His new company just debuted the very strategy I proposed. It was working! He said after discussing it with a few other guys in the office, the ball just started rolling.
While I never received another update directly, the details remained on their website until I stopped checking a year or so later.
To be clear, nothing in this story made anyone rich or famous, it was just a good idea that added another option to their already strong portfolio. And I think some of their customers were big fans.
When I discovered my idea worked, I was happy. Soon after I began to feel it was “stolen.” This was not true. It was just an idea; an idea I never fought for myself because I thought it would be too difficult. And maybe it was difficult, but someone else was willing to endure the hardship to make it happen.
Perhaps ten other people in our industry had the same idea somewhere in the world. I have no way of knowing. I just know that one person, at one company – not my friend, but one of the other “guys” apparently – chose to do the hard thing. And it paid off.
I don’t regret my decision to drop it. My life took an altogether different turn soon after. But I do regret avoiding difficulty. People who make a difference embrace it. I try to keep this in mind at all times these days.