Tips for Inventor No: 20/52

Tips:-

There is already too many shiok sendiri inventors in town. Try not to be one of them.

Essence:-

Before embarking on a project to create a new invention, you should find out the value of that idea first. Conduct a comprehensive feasibility study first before proceeding to make a prototype.

Shiok Sendiri

I think you could agree with me that when a person received a birthday gift, he feels happy. But I can assure you that when a person is able to conceptualize a good idea, it is equally happy. But for some inventors, that feeling is much stronger. It’s real contentment and, that is certainly grander than receiving a birthday gift.

This is just natural. When an inventor conceived a new idea, he feels excited because he thinks his idea is brilliant. Furthermore, sometime he also thinks that dazzling idea is going to make him into an instant millionaire. But in actual fact, most of us got carried away, especially when we have not done enough research to know the strength of the new idea. And we have not fully understood the potential of that raw idea yet.

The mistake is palpable when researcher and scientist have invested thousands of Ringgit into a project prematurely. Carelessly, they just jumped into a project without doing any feasibly study. When a situation like this happened, it is similar to throwing salt into a lake hoping that to make sea water. Mistake like this could have been avoided if the researcher had done some groundwork first before embarking onto a project.

May I relate to you some real story which I think is hilarious. This is to demonstrate how foolish a person can be. I have a friend Cikgu Lim (not his real name) who teaches Kemahiran Hidup (Living Skills) in a primary school. One day he came to me to show his new invention. He was so excited about his new solar torch light. He claimed that this will be the next BIG THING.

I was aroused and became excited when he handed the prototype to me. He was packed with so much enthusiasm when he was demonstrating that new million dollar invention. I took the torchlight and tried it on. It worked! That's fantastic, I complimented Cikgu Lim. Did you use the solar cells like those that are used on a calculator, I enquired. He nodded his head in agreement.

I made further inquiry by asking how does it work at night? I know a solar powered calculator couldn’t work in the dark. There was a moment of silence. Then I reckon that was a fatal question which killed his invention. And it did. The music stopped and everything died there. This new invention of a solar torch light could not work in the dark. I felt so sorry for him. What's the use of a torchlight when it cannot be used in the dark, Cikgu Lim must have come to his sense when he asked himself silently.

Cikgu Lim was silent. He kept quiet because he does not have an answer for my question. He has fallen into a trap. He is a typical shiok sendiri inventor. How sad.

Let me give you another example. I received a call from Brad (again not his real name) saying he needed to see me urgently. He wants to discuss his ideas. So, I went off hurriedly to meet him because he sounded very urgent. We meet for the first time at the Starbucks cafe. I was anxious to know what great idea he has got in his bag.

Brad began by telling me that he has a thousand ideas in his book and, he wished to commercialize 100 ideas this year, he said excitedly to me. This opening statement already has given me a hint that he is not a real person. He is joking, I tried to comfort myself quietly. Nevertheless, I gave the benefit of doubt to him and lent him my ears.

So, his first grand idea was to develop a hanger for his sister. Brad complained that his sister throws her clothing all over the room. I probed further because I wanted to know what so special about this new hanger. But within a couple of minutes after hearing his explanation, I realized he was just wasting my time. His idea of a new hanger is so shallow. It is dull and not interesting at all. Brad is just a dreamer. He is just a toddler learning how to walk but gave me the impression that he could fly. Like Cikgu Lim, Brad is just another shiok sendiri inventor

Like the above 2 Shiok Sendiri inventors, I wish to inform you that creative ideas for a new gadget, or a new product or a new process do constantly appeared in our mind. This happened to everyone without any discrimination of gender or age or educational background. This is just natural. There is also no discrimination whether you are a kid in a kindergarten or a CEO of a large corporation. It happens to you. Ideas pop up in our mind all the time.

New ideas pops-up easily. Ideas are cheap if they are not properly analysed and developed. Hence it will be beneficial if you could make effort to learn from the experts and the sifus in the industry. You should learn how to manage your new ideas. You should learn how to evaluate the strength of your new idea.

It would be beneficial for you to know that I've created a set of test called "Check your Idea" I recommend that you take this test to find out the strength of your idea. It's a simple test that you can take by yourself. It only takes about 15 minutes to do this test by yourself. It is not a complex or a very accurate test. But what it does is that the test gives you a sense of understanding the strength of that idea of yours. This test is designed to prevent people from falling into the shiok sendiri category.

After you have done this simple test, you should then conduct a proper research before you embark into making it into a prototype. Usually in your feasibility study you cover 2 main areas. That it one, you want to do a technical research and find out whether if your idea is technically feasible to build. And the two, you want to do a thorough market research to see if you can turn your invention into a feasible business. Only by getting a positive result from your feasibility study will you then proceed to move on to the next stage, that is to turn your idea into a prototype.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing you again next week for another inexplicable tip for inventor.

Be cre8tve selalu

Bugs Tan Ph.D

Inventor