Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to ask people about the best idea
Speaker 1: they never pursued, and to ask yourself that question too.
Speaker 1: You'll hear great ideas and learn a lot about people,
Speaker 1: including yourself as you do. Today's tip is inspired by
Speaker 1: an episode of the podcast No Stupid Questions with Angela
Speaker 1: Duckworth and Stephen Dubner. Duckworth recounted how the investor for
Speaker 1: oz Dwan met KIP Charter School's co founder Dave Levin
Speaker 1: at a party. He asked him, what's the best idea
Speaker 1: you've never executed? Levin said that using behavioral science to
Speaker 1: help kids improve their lives was that idea. From that
Speaker 1: conversation grew the nonprofit Character Lab, with Doan as board chair,
Speaker 1: an admission to advance scientific insights that help kids thrive.
Speaker 1: Now that is certainly a much bigger impact then you
Speaker 1: get out of most cocktail party chit chat. I love
Speaker 1: that question, what's the best idea you've never executed? Now?
Speaker 1: My guess is that Dean knew a little bit about
Speaker 1: Levin and when he asked that question, perhaps he already
Speaker 1: had a hunch that his good ideas would be worth supporting.
Speaker 1: But even if you are not planning to start a
Speaker 1: new nonprofit or business based on someone else's ideas, it
Speaker 1: can still be fruitful to ask about them. For starters,
Speaker 1: asking about the best idea the other person has never
Speaker 1: pursued invites more meaningful conversation than the usual what's keeping
Speaker 1: you busy? Or what do you do? Asking about the
Speaker 1: best idea they haven't pursued also honors them by communicating
Speaker 1: that you believe they have even more good ideas than
Speaker 1: they've acted on. The conversation builds relationships by letting you
Speaker 1: know what the person is curious about, and who knows,
Speaker 1: maybe you will encounter an idea that gets you excited.
Speaker 1: I could see a similar question being asked in job interviews,
Speaker 1: what's the best idea you've never pursued. If you ask
Speaker 1: a job applicant that question, the response may give you
Speaker 1: insight into the range of ways that they could support
Speaker 1: your organization. The kinds of ideas they've considered probably hint
Speaker 1: at the range of work they could do. Plus you'll
Speaker 1: learn about their interests and ideas beyond the scope of
Speaker 1: your work, what makes them who they are, what captures
Speaker 1: their curiosity A job applicants response may also reveal what
Speaker 1: they see as barriers to acting on their ideas, so
Speaker 1: you can anticipate what they might see as barriers at
Speaker 1: work and how you might potentially help them navigate these.
Speaker 1: You can ask yourself this question too, what great ideas
Speaker 1: have you had that you haven't followed up on? Are
Speaker 1: there any ideas you've been excited about in the past
Speaker 1: that you'd like to revisit and act on now, either
Speaker 1: in a professional or entrepreneurial way, or maybe just for fun.
Speaker 1: Part of the joy of writing and podcasting is that
Speaker 1: I get to try out lots of ideas and topics.
Speaker 1: But even so, there are plenty I haven't fully executed on.
Speaker 1: I want to write more about big family logistics and
Speaker 1: tricks of the trade. I have a particular fascination by
Speaker 1: type two errors. I also like writing about incredibly prolific
Speaker 1: people and sonnets. Maybe someday, when we ask others and
Speaker 1: ourselves about the best ideas we've never acted on, we
Speaker 1: dream big and give attention to possibilities, we can have
Speaker 1: better conversations. We may also decide to give some of
Speaker 1: those ideas a world. If you've had a great idea
Speaker 1: that you are considering acting on but haven't yet, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear about it. You can tell me about
Speaker 1: it at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.
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