Ideas lead to invention, thus, many of us are stingy with our ideas. We fear that if we share our ideas someone else will build it before we get the chance to build it ourselves. The problem with this thinking is that often times, we don’t build the majority of ideas we keep secret.

An idea is nothing if it is not built and shipped. Your idea may or may not be unique, but if it is one that solves a problem or a need in the world, why would you want to keep it to yourself? If you can’t build it, why not allow it to grow through others. This, I believe, is the type of thinking that may have led to open source tools and we all see how those have benefited the general community.

For those that build things, there is an understanding that the invention and innovation comes through implementation. There are many different ways to build an idea. There are hurdles and roadblocks, pivots and at times we have to start over.

At CauseLabs, we have a weekly meeting set aside for sharing ideas. It’s become an important part of our culture and it allows us to explore the art of possibility. Not every idea is acted upon, but many are prototyped, some are archived, others are scrapped and a few have turned into products we’re incredibly proud of and love to share.

I love sharing my ideas. In fact, I give them away freely. This is primarily because I am a thinker who wants to be a maker. I’m lucky that I have talented family, friends and coworkers who can make something of my ideas. I’m kinda funny at long leadership team meetings because I want to get past the thinking and talking and get to the “doing” part of the work. It’s not unusual for me to jump forward on the agenda and ask “so how are we going to make this happen?”

I want my ideas – our ideas – to be realized. That requires taking action and sometimes that means sharing your ideas so others can take action.