What's The Big Idea?

Like most folks, giving a presentation in front of a room full of other folks is not high on my list of fun times. The thought is a little intimidating, even when I'm talking about something I love. In this case, the other folks will be 7th Graders and I'll be presenting about Entrepreneurship. It's a fun topic for me, but I'm sure it will be a snore for the 72 7th Graders who will be forced to endure it.

While trying to come up with something quasi-interesting for this group, my second grader complained about how difficult her homework was. Her class is working on reading comprehension and her teacher had instructed her class to find "The Big Idea" in the story. My daughter could not always identify the underlying theme of her stories...."The Big Idea".... because there were often several themes in each story. It dawned on me that this problem is just like business. And just like life.

In business, you need to define your "Big Idea" to construct a business plan....the map for the expected progression of your business. Our "Big Idea" here was to make quality, custom made Nursing Scrubs. We included a few "Small Ideas" to further define the purpose for our business. One "Small Idea" was to include garment options for a wide range of sizes and lengths to help out scrubs wearers who were not served by the "off the rack" scrubs manufacturers. Another "Small Idea" to back up our "Big Idea" was to offer the same service to pregnant nurses - a segment of the population sadly ignored by other scrubs manufacturers. All our small and big ideas combined to make a plan for our Company.

I decided if every person could determine his or her "Big Idea" as a goal to map out their own lives, we'd all be in a happier place. Nurses discovered their "Big Ideas" when they decided to enter Nursing School. Dentists faced their "Big Idea" when attending Dental School. I decided I could challenge my 7th Grade listeners to find their own "Big Ideas" and to concentrate on a few "Small Ideas" to help complete their own map.

In business, it is wise to review your Business Plan regularly, to update it and to revise direction, in case your path to your "Big Idea" needs some tweaking. That's a great idea for all of us, I decided, in our personal lives. Review, update, revise, tweak.

And I decided to see what these bright 7th Graders could come up with as "Big Ideas" in their lives. They still may snore through my presentation, but hopefully, they will think about their own paths in life, and come up with some "Big Ideas" of their own.