Are great ideas created or discovered? That’s the theme of my recent interview with Peter Sims, author of the new book, Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, and you can listen here:
If you’d like a hint about the answer to the opening question, consider how how Google began: The founders didn’t set out with an idea to “create one of the fastest-growing startup companies in history,” or even to “revolutionize the way we search for information on the web.” The initial project was to prioritize library searches online. That doesn’t sound very exciting — and certainly doesn’t sound like a $29 billion company — does it? But it’s from there that, little by little, the company we now know as Google emerged.
Peter cites story after story in his book (based on over 200 interviews), and he talks about a few of them during our conversation — including how Hewlett-Packard stumbled upon a device that turned their entire company around, and how Chris Rock develops material for his sold-out theatre shows.
In addition to the stories, you’ll also learn the following when you listen to the interview:
- Do “Little Bets” work in any industry?
- How do “experimental innovators” work?
- How do you persevere while you’re waiting for the “big idea” to emerge from your “Little Bets”?
- Can Peter help your organization discover some great ideas?
Listen and enjoy!
