Meg Daly is an entrepreneur and founder of Friends of The Underline. Knight Foundation provided seed funding for the project to promote community engagement. Photos: Pedestrian path below Metrorail track by Michael Bolden.

For years, people posted notes on doors, corkboards and car windshields with tape, thumbtacks and windshield wipers. Notes got wet, stolen and often never delivered. 

Then, along came the Post-it note. We could post notes wherever we wanted, without the hassle of glue, tape or other things to make the note stick. And, the product took off, making billions for the company with the Post-it patent, 3M. 

Sometimes great ideas like that, with the possibility for big change, are right in front of us, just waiting for someone to take them and run with it. Sometimes they are ideas just sitting in your back yard, with the possibility of changing an entire community.

In my last blog post I talked about how quickly The Underline, an initiative to transform 10 miles of underutilized land below Miami’s Metrorail into a linear park and urban trail, has mobilized. In the 10 months since we incorporated as a nonprofit, The Underline has been embraced by Miami-Dade County Parks & Recreation and Transit departments, has been endorsed by four cities and the county, and even the University of Miami’s School of Architecture has devoted a design studio to it. Now, our goal is to complete a master plan by the summer of 2015 and break ground in 2016.

But why did why the community fall in love with and propel The Underline forward —especially in light of so many great ideas that are floated out there.

Give people ownership in the idea

Somehow, some way, your idea has to connect with the people who will use it. And, what better way than if they believe that they thought of it themselves? 

The space beneath Metrorail has been pretty much the same since the 1980s. We have driven past it, ignored it as we sat in traffic, grumbled about it while biking the M-Path, and like an old uncomfortable sofa, we have just resigned ourselves to live with it.    

Despite our apathy, a few vigilant groups have tried to improve the space … from the volunteers at TREEmendous Miami, who stealth-plant trees, to the Miami-Dade County Transit Department and the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, which have made ongoing path upgrades. 

When I talk about the vision for The Underline most people say, “That’s a great idea. I’ve always wondered why no one has done this before.” With this simple comment, you see that people “get it,” and in one way or another, they have looked at this underutilized land and tried to figure out what to do with it.  

Activate the crowd

Today, there are so many outlets to reach people who want to engage in your idea.  Through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blogs, email, crowdfunding and even traditional media, find ways to activate people and lend viral energy to your initiative.

People love to cozy up next to a winner.  If your idea has lots of people liking, tweeting, and posting, it’s likely that other people will like, tweet and post too.  This domino effect of social media sends the message, “This is hot; people like it, and so should you.” 

Accelerate the idea

When you move quickly, people believe you can deliver on your promise. If you deliver on your promise, people stay excited and energized. When they are energized, they will go to bat for you when you ask them.

 In a nutshell, momentum shows your commitment to delivering on your idea. And, delivery helps you get usage and adoption. Adoption is proof of demand, and demand is the hallmark of a winner.

Fill a market need

The best time for the idea light bulb to go on is when there is pent-up demand for a product or service. 

When Neil Young launched his PonoMusic player on Kickstarter, the digital music system literally flew off the shelf with $6 million in “pledges” in 30 days (almost eight times the Kickstarter goal). Kickstarter donors wrote, “I have been waiting for years for analog sound from a digital device” and “Why didn’t you launch earlier?” and “I can finally listen to music like it came from vinyl.” It’s clear these donors have been clamoring for this product, and when it came, they lined up to buy.   

In the case of The Underline there is a pent-up demand for safe, protected corridors to bike and walk … no surprise since Miami is one of the most dangerous places in the country to bike and walk. 

Time it right

You know the expression, “Timing is everything.”  Timing definitely contributes to the stickiness of an idea.    

In the case of The Underline, many Miamians have visited and been wowed by the High Line (a linear park in New York’s Meatpacking District built on an old elevated rail line).  Avid bicyclists are educated about trail initiatives around the country. And, lots of people see the halo effect on development from iconic green spaces such as Millennium Park in Chicago. 

Both the high profile and impact of these initiatives made Miamians want their own iconic public space with its own special flavor.    

Go for it

Whether your idea is big or small, just put it out there and see if it sticks.  And, if you see it sticking, you just might be on to something. Go for it … and good luck! 

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