Invention Intelligence Lab

I was working on a hunch when I set the next free telecall for Invention Intelligence members as OPEN SESSION. BRING A TIP. ASK A QUESTION.

[It’s on Friday 11th July 2008, 10am BST. If you’re not getting our emails already, sign up here for free to get the dial-in details for this and other teleseminars.]

Yes, we all have questions, questions, questions about the best ways to develop a new product idea or invention, or what to do to get a new business idea off the ground.

But each of us often completely undervalues the knowledge we have already. We are blind to it.

I’m not talking about experts here. Or people who’ve studied something for years. Or enthusiasts.

I’m talking about each of us “ordinary” people.

“One man’s rubbish is another man’s gold”, I think the saying goes.

I know that I certainly get a lift when someone asks me a question and I share knowledge and pointers that I’ve come to take for granted.

Usually it’s simple stuff, like how to change the start-up page in your Internet Browser so you don’t have to look at MSN at least once day! Sometimes it’s more specialist, like how do you begin to put together a video demo for your product and get it on your website. Or even what’s the best way to get yourself a website in the first place.

Sometimes I even startle myself with the obscure information I can come out with around developing new ideas and inventions. I just don’t know I know it!

It occurred to me that we’re all getting more conscious of re-using and recycling physical objects these days. You only need to look at the reach of Freecycle or eBay. But we’re not yet in the habit of recycling the INFORMATION we hold.

And of course, even when we share knowledge, we can’t lose it, either. In fact, we’re only likely to get more helpful information in return. “Whatever you give comes back to you. Whatever you take will not stay with you.”

In the business of inventing and innovation, I’m continually struck but how much people have to share, no matter how far along the path they are. And how much they are eager to share their experiences and insights when they’ve “made it”.

So this telecall means a lot to me. It feels like a small but significant stepping stone towards the “Give and Take” ethos that underpins the fully functional membership site we’ll launch later this year.

But even now, feel free to join us or post your questions, and your answers, below.

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