ADOI Blog

What could be wrong with the idea? It’s my idea! Pt.1

nick_morgan on 09 11, 2009

I was reminded again this week how easy it is for us to become so entrenched in an idea or concept that we fail to see anything wrong with it, especially if it’s our idea.

In a similar way when we meet our life partner, we fall hopelessly in love and can’t see any of the flaws and faults so obvious to everyone else.

The business press is also partly to blame with their trite quotes – brilliance = 5% inspiration, 95% perspiration – we actually start to believe if we work at it hard enough, spend enough time, energy and money on it then it will come right, no matter what.

Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting that we don’t need passion and determination to see a project through (both attractive and enviable character traits for sure!), but if you consider again what I’ve touched on previously, productivity precedes greatness and the incredible output of the worlds greatest thinkers, then we can assume that the majority of our ideas, are going to be rubbish.

Neil French would often boast about how much work he turned down, other leading lights in the industry do much the same. But what happens to us when we’re so utterly certain our idea is the best, most brilliant idea ever thought of, but nobody else can see it?

Well, you could pursue it at all costs (usually your own) and be damned. History reminds us that there are many instances when this has proven to be the right approach – Vincent Van Gogh is an excellent example (but who wants to end up dead before seeing their idea comes to fruition?).

Or, we can try a radical new approach that will enable us to brainstorm our ideas in a way that does away with the need for defensiveness and rebuttal. And that approach is a concept called Silly Ideas.

By exaggerating, recontextualizing, or reversing our idea, so it becomes the silliest idea possible (and I do mean really silly) we’ll remove all necessity to defend it, after all who wants to defend a silly idea? And we’ll be creating an environment where our idea can flourish, or mutate, or fall flat on its face without affecting us personally, in any which way.

By removing the necessity to come up with an answer, and allowing ourselves to think silly first means:

People will engage with the process very easily.

We are encouraged to take huge creative “leaps”.

Because the idea is a silly idea people will be far less willing to “defend” it.

This encourages a more worthwhile discussion.

In Pt 2 I’ll discuss how to proceed with the Silly Ideas process to encourage immediate buy-in from our peers and colleagues so we no longer feel like the last person on the deck of the Titanic watching whilst everyone else jumps ship.

Nick Morgan.

e. nmorgan@mustgetideas.com

Nick is an ECD and author with 20 years industry experience. He provides “on-site” executive training/mentorship and has inspired countless creatives to perform way beyond their own boundaries and expectations.

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