“If you want something done, ask a busy person.” While this is not an unfamiliar proverb, and it does have many truly valid applications, it is by no means the be-all and end-all of business advice out there.
Different people have different talents. Some people love being so busy, sometimes even to a fault, that they don’t even really know how to be not busy. Yet, being busy all the time is not everyone’s cup of tea. There are also successful people out there with exquisite time management skills who have achieved envious levels of work-life balance and are far from being work-a-holics.
Not only do you not need to be like everybody else to be successful, in the above instance, who can really say whether being busy is truly always better than the opposite. So, what is the nugget of advice here? If you have too much to do, but you think you have a really good idea that you really want to try out, is it perhaps worth it to consider outsourcing that idea to someone else just to get it done and out there?
Which Skills Are Worth the Most?
Even though everyone’s skillset is different, and there are core skills we all need to get better at in these days and 
times, you will have certain skills that you are naturally better at than others. Maybe you are more of an idea person than a planner. Maybe you are more of a sales person than an analyst. You know best what you are good at, why, and what you most enjoy doing.
In many businesses, salaries attempt to put a value on which roles are worth more than others. A CEO might get paid more for being the accountable decision maker, but would he be as good a decision maker if he didn’t have a good analyst who provides meaningful insights or a good sales force who religiously overachieves their revenue goals to bring in the money to invest in the R&D and advertising that fuels and enables so many of the related activities?
Where Does the Value Come From?
An initial idea by itself only has value potential until its value materializes into something tangible. Thus, the idea generation process, though highly valued in theory, is often undervalued in terms of potential income-earning 
skills even though it is the seed from which the plant grows.
This leads some people to conclude that more valuable than the idea is the leader who can formulate the right team to give life to that idea. While the leader is nothing without the idea, and the team and its leader can be equally, collectively, or individually responsible for both the success and the failure of an idea’s implementation, the idea itself is still only one ingredient or variable in the equation.
The idea alone has no value until it is given the appropriate fuel to survive. Like a newborn, an idea is a dynamic entity that grows and evolves into something more mature over time. An idea needs meaningful guidance and direction to successfully grow with time.
What is the Source of Momentum?
But what will be the source of the momentum to keep everything moving? What is the source of: the passion of an entrepreneur for his product; the commitment of a successful goal achiever for her New Year Resolutions; the love of a caring parent for their newborn child; the duty of a solider or serviceman for their country; or the drive of a selfless difference maker for their cause?
A good leader and a good team become good or great because of the energy that fuels them, the sustained energy that keeps them going and growing. That sustenance will include but is also so much more than just financing that flows in and out of the bank account, like fuel that is pumped into and out of a vehicle’s engine.
Can idea sustenance and nurturing truly be adequately outsourced to an entity that is out-of-touch with the idea’s initial inspiration? Maybe so for some projects, but likely not for all projects.
For your situation, your answer for whether (or where) to outsource an idea to will depend on the quality of results you are looking to achieve. Do you simply want to get it done and/or keep your costs low? Will you be happy with that in the short term and in the long term? Or, are you looking for something more than that. Therein will lie your answer for how to proceed with your idea.
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Photo Credit:
title=”Princess Diana Story Quilt“ by Verity Louise, on Flickr”
title=”2012-122 May Day Gift by mrsdkrebs, on Flickr
title=”poppies by Alanna Risse, on Flickr
title=”Final Space Shuttle Launch – Atlantis via #NASATweetup” by Fifth World Art, on Flickr
Two Comments:
The first is that I believe that I was told “if you want something done right, you better do it yourself.” And that’s the perspective that I live by because I am a micro-manager.
Two, I think both busy people and non-busy people can both be productive… it depends on their personality types as well as their type of work (which was what you basically suggested). For me, I work long, tedious hours and get a lot of work done (though sometimes the hours that I invest are meaningless). My husband puts forth a lot less time but brings in great results! Like I said… it’s about your personality and what type of work you are trying to achieve.
Thanks for inviting me to comment
Connie Omari recently posted…What is Ladyhood?
I agree. In the end, getting results that you want is key — that and a healthy work life balance, too. Who wants to be crazy busy if you can’t find the time to enjoy anything. I think that’s why I reluctantly agree with outsourcing, though with the caveat that you are honest with yourself about why and to whom you are outsourcing.
Thank you, too, for visiting my site and adding your comments. Much appreciated. I’m always interesting in exchanging ideas.