When building new ideas, we must be careful not to set any of our posts in concrete too early in the process. While this strategy may work fine for grape arbors, ideas should properly remain quite fluid until the very final stages of refinement and development. Premature fixing of ideas can block new possibilities and combinations from consideration.

Even when building grape arbors, it pays to leave the wooden structure sitting uncemented in the holes propped up to allow the planners a chance to evaluate the look and the feel of the new structure in its setting. How different it looks in the actual ground.

Once the concrete is set, it will take a chain saw to change the height or position of the structure.

Some people approach invention and the creation of new ideas with so much bias, predisposition and closed-mindedness that they are doomed to failure. Strong foundations can support the lofty spires of a cathedral, but they can also a prison make.

When we gather information to support our thinking, we don't mean selective gathering. The goal is to gather all the information we need to build a clear understanding.

Sometimes the best inventions are carefully grounded in the consideration of everything that might possibly go wrong. Pie in the sky thinking is fine early in the process, but implementation plans require attention to obstacles, issues, threats and surprises.