%20with%20(R)_edited.png)
You Don't Have to Invent It
The best ideas aren't always new. Sometimes they're just a better version of something that already works.
Friday night is pizza night in our house.
It has been for years.
So last Friday night, Kim and I were at one of our favorite spots on the island, sitting at the bar, getting ready to order our pizza.
Then we saw the dinner special.
Panko-crusted chicken over wild rice with cherry tomatoes and fresh arugula.
It looked really good.
For a minute, we both thought about abandoning pizza night and ordering the special.
I asked Kim if she wanted to get it.
She looked at me and said:
“No. You could probably make that. And yours will probably be better.”
Okay.
Challenge accepted.
We got our pizza.
The next day, we stopped at the market and picked up everything I needed to make my version of it.
And that's the key.
My version.
I wasn't trying to recreate exactly what we'd seen at the restaurant.
I liked the idea, but I wanted to put a little Steve flair on it.
Instead of plain breadcrumbs, I used paprika-infused breadcrumbs.
I did a brown and wild rice blend.
And instead of just throwing some arugula on top, I made a lemon vinaigrette with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and a little honey.
It was tremendous.
Probably one of the best dinners I've made in the last month.
Kim's verdict?
“Definitely a keeper.”
But here's the thing.
I didn't invent anything.
Someone else came up with the dish.
I saw it.
I liked the idea.
I took what I liked about it, changed a few things and made it my own.
And I think there's a really important lesson in there for founders.
We spend WAY too much time worrying about whether our ideas are completely original.
I hear it all the time.
“We don't have any competitors.”
“Nobody is doing what we're doing.”
“This has never been done before.”
Founders wear those statements like badges of honor.
I'm not sure they should.
Because some of the best businesses in the world weren't built by inventing something completely new.
They were built by looking at something that already existed and asking:
How can we do this better?
Better product.
Better experience.
Better pricing.
Better distribution.
Better branding.
Better customer service.
Better execution.
You don't get extra points in business because nobody has ever thought of your idea before.
And being first doesn't mean you win.
Execution matters a hell of a lot more than originality.
There's also something else I like about this idea.
When something already exists, you have proof that somebody actually wants it.
There's a market.
There's a customer.
There's a problem people are already spending money to solve.
Now your job is to figure out whether you can solve it differently or better.
That's a very different starting point than trying to convince the world it needs something it's never even considered before.
None of this means copying someone else's business.
It means paying attention.
Look around.
What's working?
What's not?
What do customers love?
What do they hate?
What would you change?
And where can you add your own flair?
That's innovation too.
I didn't invent panko-crusted chicken over rice Friday night.
I just saw something that looked pretty damn good and thought:
I bet I can make that better.
Sometimes that's all the inspiration you need.
Until next time—keep building.
Cheers,
Steve Walsh
Hands On Angel
Comments