March 5, 2010 87 Comments

I Could Totally Do That

Someone else took your idea. You’ve been talking about it for years. That’s your thing. I can’t believe she said what I’ve been saying for years, and now she’s got a book. I could totally do that.

You probably had this idea, too:

Can’t see it? Click click here.

Direct link to the video

The difference between you having an idea and what they’ve done is that they’ve executed. If you’re not executing, you’re talking about doing something. Big difference. If you’ve missed over 20 years of Tom Peters in any format, that’s what he says. He’s been totally saying it for 20 years.

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  • Pingback: Stop Being the Idea Guy and Just Do It! | Better Closer

  • http://notjustlistening.com/ tammymcdaniel

    I saw @Mindclay Tweet this a few days ago – I thought it was quite clever. I posted it on FB. I am glad you posted it here so this piece of art could receive additional eyeball activity. As always, Chris, you rock just for being you!

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    If you are not executing then you are not really doing anything but talking and isn't talk cheap most of the time? That is how I see it. I mean we can say I am going to sleep more, eat less or exercise more and if we do not then what are we doing outside of convincing ourselves through talking that we should be/need to be doing it? Committing to and then actually doing are different than talking about. That is what separates people – talk less and do more. Talking creates expectations where doing surpasses or exceeds them.

    @SuzanneVara

  • http://twitter.com/Moptopp Jane Griffin

    Hi Chris this is a genius video, I spotted and reblogged it on my Tumblr the other day and I bet there's a heap of folk saying I could totally do that. I have certainly been guilty of sofa surfing and coining that particular phrase. Lately I've been trying to go down the – I will do that – route instead and I have to say it's very liberating. I also read your recent post about introducing yourself in comments – so hi, I'm a relatively new reader to your blog and was directed by the lovely AJ and Melissa Leon as part of the Open Source Charity ThinkTank. I'm glad they sent me here as I'm learning a lot from your posts so thanks Chris.

  • damianholmes

    Always enjoyed these type of creative videos. That take days of planning and trail and error. This idea has been used a few times for different things – rock bands, charities, sort of like the big dominos championships that happen every year. the most memorable use of this idea was the Honda – in the Cog advertisement – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo

    I see this video and dominos as one approach to using all the tools of social media – planning then execute by trial and error until it all just seems to start to work as one.

  • http://easisell.com/ Clement Yeung

    This video was amazing! It had me smiling all the way through. A lot of hard work and perseverance have clearly gone into it.

    I won't say that the idea is entirely unique but this particular video might be the best I've seen of its genre.

    Thanks for sharing Chris!

  • http://notjustlistening.com/ tammymcdaniel

    Hey, way to apply social media insight into your comment. Nice. I liked the comparison.

  • http://www.akashgarud.in Nitish Kunal

    I will totally do it http://www.akashgarud.in

  • http://twitter.com/AJBombers AJ Bombers

    I'm just not gonna read into this at all, or even try. That was just plain old fun from start to finish. I wonder how many times I'll watch that from beginning to end again. I do have to admit that from the second it begins, I'm thinking, why do they have paint all over them? The live audience was the best part! Thanks for sharing.

  • http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

    Chris

    Good stuff, thanks for putting this out.

    Question–ever consider taking these videos and turning them into an interactive broadcast? For example, you broadcast through Facebook, folks comment in real time through chat, it gets recored,shared and reviewable?

    Working with a client with an easy, now free product in Beta that might be fun to take a look at. http://bit.ly/9JfdFu

    Regardless, great post.

  • http://twitter.com/billhanifin Bill Hanifin

    Awesome video and very entertaining. Thanks for starting my day with a smile. Can you share any background on who put this together? I have an instinct it is from a clever bunch of engineering students, but never know.

  • garveyae

    Great video Chris, certainly one of my favourite blogs.

  • MichaelCantone

    I know first hand what happens when you have thousands of ideas and you do nothing.

    The one thing that we all have plenty of and none were in the video is ROUNDTUITS.

    It is having thousands of ideas, great ones, but you lose the excitement of the last then idea # 1001 comes along.

    There is no excuse, FOCUS.

  • http://deanholmes.me deanholmes

    As a matter of fact it was my idea… hehe. What a way to start the day with some Inspiration. Is there a tie in here for anything short of genius to what we do on a daily basis?
    As I read your Facebook discussion yesterday with the intern thing, it may show how much work goes into what we do. I agree with your final comments on that discussion, we earn every dollar we make – no doubt about that.
    Keep up the great work.

  • http://bryonsheffield.com Ironshef

    That was simply amazing, Chris. Thanks for sharing it. Like AJ Bombers (aside: can they drop ship one of those PB&Bacon cheeseburgers?) I was wondering about the paint from start to finish…and loved the wrap with a live reaction.

    And, to echo damianholmes sentiment, you can draw the analogy to social media. While it may seem utterly overwhelming at first, if you plan effectively and execute with precision you can definitely bring order to the apparent chaos.

  • http://www.quired.com J. Paul Duplantis

    Just amazing. How much pressure do you think there was on the person shooting the video to not blow the shot?

    Great way to demonstrate that you have to work for success. It is damn hard as it should be. It took me until I was 40 to figure this out. Finally had to put my money where my mouth was. Now I am 46 and own a business that is primed for growth. At the same time it is also mine to lose which by my hand or the fate of luck could happen. Either way I take the chance. I have made so many mistakes along the way I can't even count but they are my mistakes to fix and learn from. I am not afraid to fail but I am also not afraid to succeed. Fear is the killer and I choose not to accept it.

    As always Chris, thanks for sharing your insight. Helps me keep perspective.

  • chriselliott

    Very cool video from OK GO and a good reminder that the difference between success and failure is the ability to execute. A good back story is that this took 60 takes over 2 days to accomplish. A good reminder that you can't give up and have to keep trying until you get it right.

  • http://JimRaffel.com/ Jim Raffel

    First, let me digress into teenage text speak “OMG that f-ing rocked my morning” – Put me in a total creative “can do” mood – thanks!

    I totally get the not executing – or in my case under executing for the past 20 years. As I have been fixing that over the last (wow almost a) year now – my “success” has increased by an order of magnitude I never thought possible.

    “Success” (ability to execute) does attract success – At least that's how I see it. Anyone see if differently?

  • http://www.istgah118.ir/ john

    very nice and interesting .good luck

  • http://www.kaplancopy.com/blog Jodi Kaplan

    Two comments. No, three.

    1) Wow.

    2) I said (for years) that I'd listen to James Earl Jones read the phone book. He later became a spokesman for the phone company. Do I get royalties? ;-)

    3) All that hard work getting the tough stuff right and the caption at the end has three typos!. It says, “OK Go thanks State Farm for making this video possible” It should say, “OK. Go thank State Farm for making this video possible.”

  • http://www.twitter.com/danieldecker Daniel Decker

    I LOVE that band and their videos. Always so creative and unique. — Right on with the execution deal. Great post. I have a big picture on my board above my desk that says “Stop talking. Start doing.” as a daily reminder that ideas are only as good as what they become. Vision without execution is just a hallucination.

  • http://twitter.com/lvnTrey April Brown

    This is so awesome.. I cannot imagine being able to have the patience and creativity to complete this project!! Thanks for sharing :)

  • http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

    Hi JP,

    Someone said the same thing to me about 15 years ago “I am also not afraid to succeed” but it's only recently that it's really sunk in. I think that many people are more afraid of standing out from the crowd (success) than remaining where they are.

  • http://twitter.com/NicolettteC Nicolette Chinomona

    This is too cool!!!!

  • joshmuirhead

    This was a wicked way to end of the week –

    Thanks Chris for sharing this video, and with complements back to you, I have also shared this with my readers.

    Love things that offer a little inspiration, and show what is possible with some creativity.

    Have an inspired day! Josh

  • maryeulrich

    I don't understand this. What a waste of time, creativity, energy and money.

    Why would this group of creative and talented people put this much time, energy and effort into something that only created a mess? Let's get them working on real problems that challenge every bit of their energy. And why would State Farm fund this, when the news showed people in New Orleans who wrote on their houses: “State Farm-not a good neighbor.”

    This reminded me of Nero fiddling, while Rome burned.

  • http://blog.mlmebusiness.com/ BrianJUY

    Dude… That video was awesome… Thanks for sharing it…

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  • Kathy

    Jodi, I thought they were typos at first, but now realize that the producers' name is “OK Go.” So it is grammatically correct after all!

  • http://twitter.com/GizaMike Mike

    Yeah I totally thought of that. Just ran out of paint before I could finish it.

  • http://www.adrianswinscoe.com/blog/ Adrian Swinscoe

    Fantastic video and no I don;t think I'd have the technical skill to do that but admire people who do. Reminds on this Honda advert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inhYO97OU3I

    Adrian

  • nelsonwee

    Awesome video Chris. And I agree totally with Suzanne – talk less and do more. Execution is more valuable in this day and age of constant flux and change!

  • http://twitter.com/AJBombers AJ Bombers

    thanks for asking, something about the Pnut butter with the bacon doesn't ship very well, but I'm always willing to test the system!

  • catrinaboisson

    Thanks for the Friday morning smile, Chris. I'm a Brogan fan and an OK Go fan. Who'd have thunk I could get my fix of both in one blog!

  • http://AreWeConnected.com mikemueller

    Chris – Back in January they did a video for the same song. This time with The Notre Dame Marching Band – in one long shot. After watching it I wrote almost the same thing you just did.
    Sorry for the link: http://areweconnected.com/2010/01/one-take/
    The crux? Just do it!

  • http://www.forum.com/ Jocelyn Davis

    Chris,
    I've been subscribing to your blog for a few months and enjoying it a lot, but haven't felt moved to comment until today. This is just about the best thing I've ever seen — incredible video wrapped in a concise, thought-provoking blog post. It has made my day. Thank you.

  • michaeldurwin

    Of course coming up with an idea is not the same as executing it. However, not everyone can execute on an idea. You may not have the expertise, time or resources. The idea that not executing is just talk and talk is cheap is extremely insulting to people with brilliant ideas who are not able to execute on them, as this band wouldn't be if State Farm had said “no”.

  • http://www.kaplancopy.com/blog Jodi Kaplan

    Well in that case (to quote Emily Litella)… nevermind!

  • http://www.ocbchgal.com/ Kathy

    I loved the video! What creativity, ingenuity, and fun!

    Yes, I've said it many times, and am finally starting to take steps. What I wish I could get over is the overwhelming feeling, and that lost feeling, like I don't know what I'm really doing. It's what usually paralyzes me, and causes me to eventually stop.

    How does one get past that point? I need and want to succeed, but in the past, those feelings have always won. I can't let them, and need to know the out before they get me this time.

    Thanks for the enlightenment, and encouragement as always.

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  • http://enterthelaughter.com Marti_L

    I believe there is something like a “cosmic consciousness” that floats ideas out into the ether and that many people can have the similar inspiration strike them at the same time. But you are absolutely correct, that it is the doing, the execution upon that idea, that makes the difference.

    Many blessings to you my friend, for all you do.

  • http://twitter.com/thinkstrategy Mat Maynor

    Me too, Chris. I could totally do that if I really wanted to. I guess I better get off my excessively large arse and go try to execute on something. LOL!

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  • http://www.blackbeltguide.com/ Marc Winitz

    This was NOTcredible Chris. Did you see how the globe did not get caught in the bowl at 2:49 in the video? OK, I could not do this but I loved it. Love execution, you made your point. And what about the camera work, that took some talent just to film this spectacle. Very cool brother…

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