I am often told that a bold suggestion is not possible or practical. The reasons are varied:

• It will not work in our culture
• My boss won’t approve it
• I can’t sell it
• We aren’t ready for it
• It is against our values
• It might fail
• It hasn’t been done before (and the following variation)
• It hasn’t been done before in our (area, region, industry, etc.)
• We don’t have the budget
• We don’t have the resources
• It is not good timing
• It’s against our policy
• The economy needs to get better first
• There is no research to validate the idea

As a generator of breakthrough thinking (which is what my clients pay me for), I am always particularly puzzled by this last one. The reason a bundle of double-blind studies from academia validating a breakthrough idea have not been completed yet is because “it is a breakthrough idea”. When it becomes mainstream, which, by definition means it will have become an old idea, the universities will set their MBA and doctoral students onto it, but until then, new ideas are not old enough to have traveled through the long time-lines and pipelines of a structured research study.

There are many success stories about breaking the rules and being courageous and creative when the situation calls for it.  Recently, Dakota Meyer received the Medal of Honor for rescuing 36 American and Afghan troops during a mission in eastern Afghanistan in Sept. 2009.  He was just 21 years old at the time. Situated in a rear position when an ambush began, Meyer and other members of his unit disobeyed orders to remain in place and used a Humvee to complete four separate rescue runs, even fighting while a piece of shrapnel had injured his arm. Dakota Meyer is not a man who behaves this way on special occasions – read how he is handling his application to be a member of New York’s Fire Department.

Although we revere those who paint inside the lines, greatness is sometimes achieved by the bold, by those who refuse to say, “It can’t be done”.  In corporate life, brilliance is often the result of taking a risk on a bold idea and having the courage to sustain it despite all the hurdles and naysayers.

Another remarkable example is Daniel Kish who simply invented a breakthrough way of navigating his sightless world, and now teaches it to others.

Watch these two inspiring videos if you ever feel the urge to say, “It can’t be done”, or hear others saying so.

Robert Browning reminds us that, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?