2008-04-15 11:08 PM

Composting Ideas

This week I heard one of my new Facebook friends use the term “composting ideas” and the longer I let it stew the more I like the metaphor. (Thanks Bill!)

In case you are unfamiliar with the idea of composting this is where you pile up organic/plant wastes and let them “stew” as they break down into rich fertilizer-like soil. The same principle can be applied to ideas: throw them on the heap and let them enrich over time. This is where the metaphor becomes really interesting.

No one creates compost for the sake of creating compost. They always want to use the compost as fertilizer to help something else grow. Even the fertilizer is not the end goal. Then the plants must be the end goal, right? Nope. The flowers and vegetables? Not quite. The real end goal of creating compost is to gain the emotional rewards from having grown and harvested your particular plants.

In the same way, when we compost ideas, we aren’t just looking for the broken down ideas, the creative “fertility”, or even the wonderful theories. We might argue that the fruits of our thinking, in the form of behaviors, are not the end goal either. I suggest that the real goal of idea composting is also that emotional reward. This time it is embodied in the feedback we receive from implementing the composted ideas.

What behavioral fruits are growing out of your idea composting?
What emotional feedback are you receiving from actions you taken today?

Posted by Wayne Buckhanan No Comments »

Leave a Reply