There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come, wrote Victor Hugo in one of the variations of his original quote.

Then there is the quote that says, build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.

There is value in both but the truth is that it takes more than a great idea or a better mousetrap to change the world. Many of the products that have changed the world were not the first to use the idea that made them famous.