Getting to the “It.”

The ‘it’ moment.
‍One of the most exciting moments in the creative business may be when that one idea finally reveals itself from all the “good ideas” and “fastballs down the middle.”

The ‘it’ comes in many forms: a big never-been-done idea. An unlocking insight. A reframing of the problem. A new understanding of what a brand truly is about. If you’ve been in enough whiteboard sessions, you know that feeling. The swirl calms. The tension transforms into creative energy.

Of course, we all know the opposite: five hours into a whiteboard hell, everyone is tired and the room smells like stale pizza and fear. Maybe your best ideas all still need a lot of explaining. Or there’s a big stack of parts and pieces that just aren’t adding up. Or the most popular ideas just feel off.

Being in so many of these sessions has taught me one thing: finding that ‘it’ isn’t magic. It’s also not predictable. It rarely arrives politely, and that arrival may take days.
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The key to getting there? Knowing what an ‘it’ is and isn’t.
‍Loud opinions, or a really pretty idea, or some glib proclamation can easily lead teams to think they’ve solved the challenge. But a true ‘it’ does more than that. It’s the idea that scales above “checking the boxes” to meet a higher standard. An ‘it’ is transformative. It changes perceptions, challenges conventions, breaks molds—while delivering value for real people in the real world.

Of course, calling something an ‘it’ when it clearly isn’t one means resources get wasted, and credibility can get strained. So, knowing when you have an ‘it’ can be a superpower. In my experience, ’it’ ideas survive three tests:‍‍

1. FIRST: It gets to the heart of what the “real win” needs to be. Understanding what success means should be explicit. Here’s where mediocre briefs can really cost you. The ideal ‘it’ can reframe the win itself. If your brief is filled with vague ambitions or lacks actionable insights, you’re elevating the randomness of “personal taste” to being the arbitrary judge of all ideas.
   
   Great leaders can help teams rise above less-than-ideal briefs. They know they need to move the team forward even in the face of uncertainties. So they dig in, challenging assumptions, provoking conversations, seeking the why behind the why. They map out what they know, looking for context, and unseen connections. 
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2. SECOND: It thrives under real constraints. Every project runs a gauntlet of constraints: budgets, timing, appetite for risk, legal guardrails, internal politics. During ideation, constraints should disappear. But when judging whether you’ve found ‘it,’ they need to be clearly visible. Constraints don’t weaken great ideas. They expose weak ones.
   Ask:
3. Can the idea still achieve success if budgets were to change or the execution was less than perfect?
   
4. Does it work broadly, connecting the top-level to on-the-ground executions clearly?
5. Is it explainable to skeptical stakeholders in ways that could turn them into supporters?
6. If the answer is no to any of these, the idea is likely too fragile to be an ‘it.’ You may be close. But you’re not there yet.
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7. THIRD: It intensifies as it grows. This is the one I trust most. Under pressure, strong ideas get simpler. Weaker ideas get more complex.
   Ask:
8. Does it simplify and get easier to communicate as it’s refined?
   
9. Can people build fresh, interesting thinking onto it without distorting or translating it? 
   
10. Is there a compelling truth or emotional connection that can be instantly felt?
    
11. If the idea's power grows as it gets more real, you may have your ‘it.’

Discovery and alignment are different phases.
As a leader, seeing ‘it’ early is only half the job. The other half is helping others see it without steamrolling them.

Sometimes it's easy, and everyone sees the ‘it’ at once. Other times, it’s less immediate for some. People need to be brought along in a way they are heard and that they can follow. Getting early support for a transformative idea is one of those times where strong creative leadership is essential.

Why this matters now more than ever.
We are operating in an era of infinite options. AI generates ideas instantly. Teams can rapidly produce endless iterations. The cost of generating a volume of ideas has collapsed—the costs of choosing poorly, in time, money, and team morale, are as high as ever.

This isn’t a critique of today’s business complexity. It’s a reminder of where real advantage lives. The edge belongs to the leaders who know how to recognize the idea worth building around.

When that happens, the energy shifts. Conversations get sharper. Decisions get faster. What started as an assignment becomes an opportunity everyone runs toward.