The power of a good idea – and having a dig

I’m not sure if you’ve caught up with it, but I highly recommend a series called Some Good News, the brainchild of American actor and filmmaker John Krasinski.

In Some Good News, Krazinski, best known for his work in the American series of “The Office”, turns news host as he and his supporting cast of family, neighbours, friends and viewers turn the cameras on themselves and the Covid-19 pandemic to bring you their view of the world from around the world.

It’s funny, relevant, heart-warming, sometimes serious but always human. Seriously human.

There were virtual weddings, graduations and always tributes to the brave and resilient front-line health workers. There were famous people, not so famous people but always, as Krazinski noted in his sign off before taking a break after 8 episodes, it was a show by the people for the people.
Mix in a great soundtrack, editing, writing, story lines and lay them on top of the digital platforms of Twitter, Zoom and You Tube and there you have it ….. a global sensation.

What struck me most about the show was its simplicity and imagination. You can just imagine the conversation when it started. “Why don’t we …….” And off Zrasinski and his team went, bringing joy to people when they needed it most.

I hope this sort of show can be an inspiration for others to have an idea and then have a dig.

If you have an idea, don’t waste it. Make it happen. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

I had a similar experience 8 weeks ago when I thought it would be a good idea to talk to Australia’s most senior bureaucrats so they could explain the difficult and important work they were doing in support of Australia’s response to the pandemic.

7 episodes and thousands of downloads later, the Work with Purpose podcast is up and running and unlike Some Good News, we don’t intend on going anywhere.

Not quite the global sensation of Some Good News, but valuable to an audience who are keen to know more about these people and their work.

The moral of both stories is, have a dig.

Come up with an idea, get started and see what happens.

The factors of media production and distribution have been democratised and, whether you like it or not, you now have the potential to be your own media.

Of course you can make excuses like you aren’t famous, no-one will care about your idea, or what if it fails ….. but seriously … who gives a toss.

Dream big, think about meeting a need and get started.

You just never know.

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