Ideate

1 Min. With A Superhero: Co-Founder Of 21 Tanks, Don Packett

by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg on 20/06/12 at 12:48 pm
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We welcome back entrepreneur, raconteur, business consultant, stand-up comedian and (phew!) co-founder of 21Tanks, Don Packett, to chat to us about his new book, Do Ideas – a book on, um, ‘doing ideas’. The book features contributions from a range of South African experts from a variety of industries, including digital marketing, aviation and entertainment.

So I have to ask… where did the idea for ‘Do Ideas’ come from?

Do Ideas, as most ideas, came about when we were sitting around trying to solve the world’s problems. As a business, 21Tanks “does” ideas, which means we work with companies to solve problems (creating ideas) and then help to execute them. We’re often asked by business owners, entrepreneurs or anyone else with an idea to hear them out and, basically, let them know if they have a good idea or not. What we realised is that most people are scared to execute, and need a kick in the pants to “do” their idea, and so Do Ideas was born. It’s for everyone.

How can Do Ideas apply to business owners?

Every business is currently sitting on at least one idea to help them grow / market / make more money / (insert any other way to make a business better here). If they aren’t, they’re in trouble. These ideas, however, are hardly executed (for a variety of reasons) which is a true shame. By “doing” your ideas, you’re trying something new. Your idea may work, it may not, but the chance of it working if you “do” it is 100% stronger than if it dies inside your head like all the others. And if it works, good things happen in your business. It just makes sense.

What is the most common barrier stopping entrepreneurs from “doing” their ideas?

In my experience the biggest barrier for most people, not just entrepreneurs, is fear of failure. Telling someone about your idea, and how it’s going to change the world, is way more satisfying than the daunting task of actually starting it. Telling your story means the ability to sensationalise the outcome, actually “doing” it means it is what it is. More people need the balls to do, and belief in, their ideas. Do Ideas is, hopefully, a step in the right direction.

You talk a lot about perspective at 21Tanks. How important is perspective when tackling challenges?

Perspective is crucial. When facing a problem, you look at it from one angle – your angle. You’re so close to the problem that you struggle (and it is a struggle) to see it any other way. Getting someone else’s perspective allows you to see it from a different angle. It’s not rocket science. It just works. So with that, it was critical for Do Ideas to have as many perspectives as possible to speak to as many people as possible, or different emotions certain people were feeling. It covers “just get out there and do it you big girl” to “assess all your risks before you even think about starting”. The power is in the perspective.

How does 21Tanks go about “doing ideas”?

In a nutshell, we work with organisations to help solve their problems. It starts with the ideas (which is the easy bit) and then moves to executing those ideas. Execution (doing ideas) is what it’s all about. If ideas aren’t made real, they’re worth nothing. And that sucks.

Great stuff. Thanks for chatting to us Don! Ideate readers, buy the e-book on Amazon here (only $2.99) or, if you’d like to download a pdf version of Do Ideas for free, click here.

Yolandi Janse van Rensburg writes about social media, marketing, life and, of course, cars. We say “of course” because Yolandi is nuts about anything on 4 wheels and runs Autofemme, a blog about cars. Our Ideate sub-editor is also the Heavy Chef girl at World Wide Creative. You can follow her on Twitter @Yolandi_JvR View more articles by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg.

Tags: Don Packett, entrepreneur ideas, interview, superhero interview

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