Five ways to kill an idea

Tactics and opportunities to bring your idea to life

We’ve all been there. We come up with an idea, share it with colleagues but before you know it, the idea is dead. Stopped in its tracks.

More often than not, an idea might be killed not because of malice, envy or other nefarious reasons, but as a result of perfectly good intentions. When we block an idea or find ways in which it may not work, it’s likely we’re trying to think rationally: cost, time, resources are all good reasons to stop and think again.

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But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Unless we wise up and become aware of the warning signs, we’ll be left with teams and organizations bereft of creativity a39230nd innovation.

Imagine the scene: you’ve come to a meeting with five other people with a new idea. It could be something completely new or an iteration of something discussed previously. The group has a choice: embrace the idea... or find ways to shoot it down. It’s so easy to do the latter and here are five warning signs to look out for:

Strangle with red tape

Our working environments are made up of complex systems and processes. Large or small, every organization is a heady mix of politics, priorities and bureaucracy. There’s always some legal or regulatory hoops to jump through and people to get on board.

When we present our new idea to a group, it’s easy to imagine someone pushing back: “it’s a nice idea, but I’m not sure compliance will sign this off. Let’s get them involved early so we can factor in their point of view."

Before you know it, the idea has been wrapped up in so much red tape that it's no longer identifiable. The essence of the idea is gone and you’re left with something vanilla and no longer unique.

What can we do to defend our idea?

• Get people on board early: Before the meeting, sound people out. Speak to legal and compliance to get an understanding of the main potential stumbling blocks. Keep these in mind but don’t let them dilute the core of your idea.
• Single out decision-makers: Get buy-in from key decision-makers in advance of your meetings. Even if this is only informal to begin with, it’s surprising how often support from others can strengthen resolve amongst a group.

Pass the buck

New ideas can be scary. They’re fraught with risk. After all, there’s every chance something new could fail and who wants to be associated with that?

It’s easy to pass the buck when confronted with a new idea. People claim they’re not qualified and that there’s someone else from marketing, digital or the innovation team who’s better placed to make the call.

The truth is we’re all up to the job of taking on a new idea. It just takes the right mindset to get on board. Some cultures are better equipped than others to deal with this but there are some things we can do ourselves to switch on

What can we do to defend our idea?

• Embrace failure: Carry out small experiments to begin with in controlled environments. You don’t need to go all out with a ‘big bang’ straight away. Start small and learn what does and doesn’t work.
• Develop a minimum viable product (MVP): Start with a basic version of the idea and develop from there. Gmail was initially used internally at Google but is now a nearly universal email client.

Kicking the can down the road

Too often fear of failure is rationalized as waiting for the perfect opportunity. There’s often a better time or a less risky idea to take on instead.

But whatever your idea, you can’t make this work unless you actually get started. A common challenge from others might be: “it’s not quite the right time now with year-end coming up. Let’s pick this up after Christmas with a fresh perspective."

Unfortunately, there’s never a ‘right’ time. There will always be other competing priorities and the key is to grasp the nettle and take your idea forward now. But how can you do this in the face of opposition?

What can we do to defend our idea?

• Re-frame the priorities: Demonstrate why your new idea is a bigger priority now. Find ways to align your new idea to others’ urgent priorities so they can clearly see how it will add value to their work.
• Draw up a timing plan: Present a simple timing plan to bring to life how your new idea can be adopted and tested in a short space of time. By getting started, you’re more likely to build confidence and get people on board.

Killed by committee

There’s a famous saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee. The term ‘design by committee’ is universally acknowledged as a pejorative term for a project that has many designers but no unifying vision.

When presenting a new idea to a group of people, it’s easy to see this get torn to shreds by a million different views and opinions. As Tom Fishburne once said:

“It is a lot easier to kill an idea than to create one. Groups are often better equipped to critique than to create.”

A New York Times article from 2012 on the challenges of group creativity highlighted research that showed that individuals almost always perform better than groups in both the quality and quantity of new ideas. People in groups tend to sit back and let others do the work and instinctively mimic others’ opinions and lose sight of their own. They succumb to peer pressure.

What can we do to defend our idea?

• Tackle groupthink head-on: Groupthink is the enemy of creativity. Encourage debate and reach out to the different personalities within the group.
• Respect others’ opinions: Not all the naysayers are wrong. There will be valid and justified criticism. Take this on board and look for ways in which this can be used to improve your original idea.

Lack of confidence

In the face of so many questions, criticism or negativity, it’s easy to lose confidence. All of a sudden the enthusiasm you had for your idea has slowly ebbed away. After all, if everyone’s saying your idea won’t work, who are you to say they’re wrong?

There may be good reasons why your idea might not work but don’t lose sight of what got you here in the first place. It’s likely you will have already gained support from others and buy-in from managers and colleagues so your idea will not be without merit.

What can we do to defend our idea?

• Embrace feedback: Don’t reject the feedback you receive... but also take it with a pinch of salt. People have different opinions, perspectives and agendas which colours their point-of-view.
• Back yourself: If you had confidence in your idea to begin with, it will have been for a good reason. Go back to your research and data and use this insight to remind yourself why your idea is worthwhile.

Conclusion

Innovation and creativity come at a premium. This is especially true in large companies and corporations where red tape, bureaucracy and HiPPOs rampage throughout the organization! It’s so easy for us to dismiss new ideas, and whilst it’s prudent to ask searching questions and challenge colleagues, we must also be careful not to stifle creativity. If we always do what we’ve always done then we’ll never move forward.

Take a positive perspective wherever possible, and look for ways to develop an idea rather than kill it off at the source. New ideas are often raw and un-moulded so it’s our collective responsibility to look for the nuggets of opportunity and bring them to life!