Innoveering Nebraska

Recently I indulged myself and watched a two hour Biography special on the original Star Wars trilogy.   What struck me most wasn’t the personal tragedy  or creativity.  Instead I was left with a tremendous awe of how many people surrounded George Lucas and made the Star Wars success possible.   Rest assured, I’m not saying that Lucas isn’t a genius (although I don’t know what to think about this baby Jedi  thing).  However I am saying that Lucas is only one man and had to have a great team supporting him to accomplish what he did. 

Which brings me to something I’ve been thinking about for some time.  How do you know when you’ve found the right people to bring an idea to fruition?  For me, I’ve decided to rely on three factors:

1) my gut – because if my gut’s uncomfortable, I’m absolutely miserable.  Plus I have a theory that our guts might be God nudging us along.

2) their past work – what have they gotten done in the past and how much of it did they do themselves?

3) their reputation – what do people I already trust say about the potential collaborator?

In summary, I think the idea that one person can do it all is a myth.   The world is just too complex and too detailed a place for one person to know, much less do, it all.   Think about it, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. 

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