Step 4: 3. Idea Timing

3. Responses and Execution > 3. Creative Momentum >3. Idea Timing

Which of the following best describes what you need to know about managing momentum?

1. I need to understand how to come up with creative ideas that violate expectations.
   7.5 Momentum Limitations

   7.5 Momentum Limitations

   "Surging water flows together rapidly.
   Its pressure washes away boulders.
   This is momentum."
   Sun Tzu's The Art of War 5:3:1-3

   Situation: 

   While it takes time for positions to erode, the momentum from surprise is lost almost immediately. In Sun Tzu's division of the elements of a position, it is a temporary environmental component of a position, not a persistent one (1.4 The External Environment]). As such, momentum is never controlled by one party for very long. By definition, surprise cannot last. It quickly becomes part of the new status quo. It can not be gained and only lost by the party that has it. As with all complementary opposites, we can leverage this natural balancing of temporary and persistent elements to our advantage, but only if we understand how.
2. I have a creative idea, but I need to know how to time it properly.
   7.4 Competitive Timing

   7.4 Competitive Timing

   A hawk suddenly strikes a bird.
   Its contact alone kills the prey.
   This is timing."
   Sun Tzu's The Art of War 5:3:4-6

   Situation: 

   The world of competition is chaotic and confusing. We uses standard methods to create expectations to give others the sense that they are in control. We unleash surprises to take away that sense of control and replace it with alternatives that we control. Since we are more prepared for the surprise than others, especially our rivals, we have more objective control. This little bit of objective control is magnified subjectively, as people compare us to our potential rivals.

   We use the constant tiny shifts in our methods between standards and innovation to build up our momentum. Released gradually into our environment, those little bursts of momentum are quickly dissipated. The competitive environment is large and, on a day-to-day basis, we cannot have any real impact upon it. Our small innovations are quickly copied by others. We need something more.