Innovative ideas – the kind that can transform your company – are inadvertently being demolished. When first presented, many ideas meet wrecking-ball comments such as…
- “How’s that going to work?”
- “Good luck getting that done!”
- “We don’t have time for something like that.” And the classic,
- “Doesn’t work… Trust me… We tried that years ago.”
We’ve all heard (or perhaps said) comments like these. These are offered as a “public service” to the team to prevent us from going off track and wasting time.
But, what have we really accomplished?
- Yes… we’ve kept the meeting on schedule.
But we also,
- have made the suggester feel stupid,
- are causing people to hold back their creativity, and
- may have destroyed the next big idea.
Instead of immediately leveling them, what if we built on new ideas?
Ninety-nine percent of innovative ideas aren’t simply blurted out in their final form. They need development to reveal their full potential.
Instead of destruction, try construction. Use the idea as a foundation and see how tall we can build the framework. If we want to be as innovative as possible, instead of saying “Yeah, but…” try “And, if…”
What’s the worst that could happen?
We’ve wasted 120 seconds on a thought that, in the end, won’t work?
But what’s the best that could happen?
Perhaps we construct something that does solve the challenge. Even better, maybe it morphs into something completely different – something incredible!
As a bonus, we’ve made the suggester feel valued and perpetuate creative, open thinking – the stuff that leads to future innovative breakthroughs!
In these competitive times, when innovation is considered one of the single most important factors to the continued success of a company… Spare the “Yeah but…” wrecking ball, use “And if…” to construct your own innovation.
Tags: creative+process, idea+building, Innovation, Leadership
Paul, I find more often than not, politics and ego gets in the way of innovation. I think listening is one of the most underrated skills. If we’d just shut our mouths and minds, and listen when another person is expressing an idea, we might actually learn something, and as you are saying, build upon the idea to create something truly innovative.
Paul,
One of the reasons I left the corporate world was because no suggestion ever gets far in the meetings you describe.
As an entrepreneur, I have knocked down the walls, and if any of those I work with want to try something, they go for it. There are no gains without risks, and since my business guarantees its work, if we screw up, you don’t pay.
Paul – You’re totally right! (on all points). Our ego is what causes us to interrupt – we want to add our own smart idea…
As far as politics are concerned… It’s disappointing how many great ideas and innovation is quashed because we’re following a pet project or whim – not the facts.
Thanks for your comments… Keep ‘em coming!
Lewis… A few interesting things…
What happens to companies? Most were once nimble (as you describe your own) but then grow to become lumbering bureaucracies? Too many people? Lack of vision? Poor leadership?
I’ve found that isn’t not enough to have a great idea/plan – even if it survives the meetings.
Also… it’s not enough for an idea to survive meetings… We also need to follow a strategic process of pitching and selling the idea – being the idea champion – through the organization.
As Seth Godin shares in his book “Free Prize Inside” (I’m going to paraphrase)…
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“Sooner or later, every project runs into trouble… encounter obstacles. Without a champion most projects will slow down and eventually stop.”
“The forces of mediocrity will band together to water down your innovation.”
“The difference between success and failure… is not about any shortage of ideas. Instead, it’s about overcoming the status quo and inertia and working withing your organization to make things happen.”
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Thanks, Lewis… always great to hear from you!
Good stuff Paul. Because we are a small firm, when someone has an idea they can recruit others of us to help refine the idea but often are left on their own to launch and manage it.
Of course, once it’s launched, I’m watching it closely. So far, so good. But then again, we have smart and experienced people who have made lots of mistakes in their pasts, so they have learned how to avoid most of the same kinds of mistakes. And all of us are careful to take only calculated risks: We aren’t experimenting on our clients.
Love the post Paul.
Instead of going into the boardroom and developing the branding for a product like most companies, Rhino Marketing Inc. went about it differently.
They are currently holding a branding competition to try to engage consumers with a product before it even has a name or hits the shelves.
http://www.theimmunitychallenge.com is offering $15,000 to the person who comes up with the best brand name for the immune-boosting product and $7500 to the person with the best tagline.
We’re working to keep potential consumers interested in the competition and the product through various means right up to it being available in local stores.
In small organisations innovative ideas can be voiced, even if they are thrown out.
As organisations grow,somehow a feeling creeps in that ideas will have to follow the corporate hierarchy.
I have often faced fresh graduates coming out with brilliant ideas, but unable to push it up the hierarchy as they haven’t learnt the art of “diplomacy “