Don't kill off an idea until you have the facts

In many meetings an idea or a suggestion is killed off quickly because someone present knows why it won't work. However, upon further exploration, it is usually the case that the person who knows that the idea won't work doesn't really know at all.

When you have a group 'brainstorming' session you usually abide by rules. These rules include the welcoming of all ideas no matter how bizarre or ridiculous they might appear. Why not have the same approach to parts of our normal working practice.

Getting the facts can tell you more about the situation than just guessing. Failure to even try to obtain the information is a failure to learn. Shouldn't we try and learn about the issue at hand so that we can make the best decision possible?

The very idea that is being 'shot down' might have been tried in the past and the reaction that you are receiving may be someone's recollection of the situation. What if the idea was tweaked and we found out that the original idea was great, but just poorly implemented - wouldn't you want to take advantage of the great ideas that pass through your business?

There is a great tendency to kill off ideas before our brains have had time to make a proper assessment of what to do with it. When we kill off ideas quickly in our businesses then ideas will stop flowing over time. Let's take advantage of all of the great ideas that flow through our business.

Smartspeed Consulting Limited
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