The trailer for Thor: Ragnarok closes with Thor bracing himself for his opponent. He finds out that it’s his fellow Avenger, the Hulk. Thor screams in relief and celebration, “We know each other! He’s a friend from work!” That was one of the best lines in the movie, and it wasn’t in the script. It came from Darcy Brown, a boy visiting the set with the Make-a-Wish foundation.
It’s not unusual for Marvel to work on ideas from unexpected sources. Another time, a journalist asked a panel of actors, “When are we gonna get our Falcon and Bucky road trip movie?” A few years later, Marvel debuted The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show on the Disney Plus streaming platform.
In their book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, authors Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, write that Marvel Studio’s unofficial motto was, “Best idea wins.” Not the most profitable idea. Not the easiest idea. Not the idea from the most powerful person. The best idea wins. As Steve Jobs would say, “You have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have to win, otherwise good people don’t stay.”
In order to help the best idea win, you need to find opportunities to demonstrate it to people. For example, while the NBA is the most prominent basketball league, the best ideas don’t always start there:
- The three-point shot gained popularity with the American Basketball Association (ABA). After the ABA and NBA merged, the NBA tried the three point line for one year
- The Basketball Tournament tried a clockless fourth quarter. A few years later, the NBA tried this in a non-regulation All Star game
- The NBA recently implemented an in-season tournament, which was inspired by soccer leagues’ in-season tournaments
The takeaway is to find the people that need the best idea the most. These people may not have the most prestige or power, but they know a good idea when they see one. They are willing to offer their platform and support to try the best idea.
The best ideas come in all shapes and sizes—they may be simple iterations on current ideas, they may be ideas that competitors are doing, and they may also be a decade-old petition that people are sick of hearing. The best ideas are exceptional because most people focus on popular, safe, or self-serving ideas. Don’t fall into those traps; good things happen when you help the best idea win.
An expanded version of this post first appeared in my newsletter, Three Thought Starters.