Recently I was honored to serve as a judge for the Idea 2 Product competition sponsored locally by St. Louis University.  Students from the business and engineering schools are encouraged to submit their ideas for original products or services for cash prizes and to move on to a regional competition next Spring.  Throughout this month-long process, there were several things that struck me:

• There are some brilliant people out there willing to take chances
• The most successful ideas were a collaboration of thought from different disciplines
• We all need to encourage innovation

I was impressed with practical, useful, outlandish and fun nature of the products entered.  There are too many to list here but the students recognized the need in the marketplace and responded to it well.  Some ideas were very early in the stage of development but others were ready for market and just needing an investor or the confirmation from some professionals that it had a prayer in being successful.

Invariably the best ideas had multiple team members from multiple disciplines of thought.  When business students teamed up with engineering students and included thoughts from law students as well as a sprinkling of professors, the ideas were well-rounded, believable and you could see a short path to market readiness.  There were a few ideas that came only from one discipline or another and you could tell they were pretty raw.  I believe this teaches all of us a lesson in collaboration and cooperation.  Seeking the counsel of others is certainly advisable.

As business leaders, we need to encourage all those with ideas to pursue innovation.  The cash prizes awarded in this competition were meaningful, but hardly worthy of the time spent.  Innovation is important for the good of the economy as a whole, not just the personal, monetary rewards that come with success.  Too often good ideas are laughed at or brushed off as fanciful.  Opportunity lies in the minds of great thinkers.  Everyone can dream big dreams and you never know where the next best mousetrap will come from.