They Shoot = Good Ideas, Don't They? : Industrial Market Trends

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Publisher: Lark Books=20 NC
Pub. Date: January=20 2007
ISBN-13: = 9781579909192
Paperback,=20 304pp

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October 2, 2007

They Shoot Good Ideas, Don't They?

By David R. Butcher

Good ideas come from doing things differently, exploring new = territory=20 and taking risks. Yet while most of us today claim to value = creative=20 thinking and thinkers, great ideas die all the time. Why?

Where are all the good ideas dead? In the heart or in the head? =

Everything starts from an idea, and innovative organizations = understand=20 that ideas can come from anywhere. Once great ideas have shown up, = they=20 have to be implemented somewhere. The =93heart=94 of the issue = lies in an=20 organization=92s ability and willingness to foster creativity.

These days, most organizations herald innovation, claiming to = value=20 creative thinking and thinkers. Yet many operate in ways = guaranteed to=20 limit or squash whatever creativity their people have. Today's = work=20 environment is often one of the most potent creativity = killers.

=93Unless the culture honors ideas and supports risk-taking, = innovation=20 will be stifled before it begins,=94 according to Joyce Wycoff, co-founder of InnovationNetwork and the author of several = books on=20 innovation and creativity.

So why do so many good ideas die? Very often, it's because of = fear =97=20 whether the person's or the organization=92s upper echelon.

There=92s this widespread notion that fear somehow spurs = creativity, yet=20 this seems counterintuitive for a number of reasons.

For one, many creative ideas are never even spoken aloud = because the=20 generator of the idea is afraid of not being heard or, worse, = being=20 ridiculed for such an outrageous idea. Other times, someone may = keep an=20 idea to oneself for fear that it will not be properly attributed. =

=93=91Why should I tell you about my new idea if you are only = going to put=20 me down=92 (so that you stay on top) is a common refrain,=94 noted = Carl=20 Robinson, Ph.D., a few years back at Advanced Leadership Consulting. =93Or, =91If = you're going to=20 take credit for my ideas ... I=92m going to keep them for = myself,=92 even if=20 it means stifling our/my creativity.=94

Other times, the creativity killer may be the executive = micromanaging,=20 sticking with what's worked in the past and generally covering his = or her=20 own butt. These stifle the cross-fertilization of ideas essential = in=20 highly creative environments.

According to Carmine Coyote at the Slow Leadership blog:

Fear of producing still more work, fear of censure and fear = of=20 losing face foster cultures that are risk-averse; together with an = attitude that protecting your butt always takes precedence. People = become=20 too afraid =97 or too tired =97 to do more than stick with what = they know and=20 what=92s worked before.

As with so many peripheral business goals, lack of buy-in from = the top=20 level keeps the creative idea stagnant. Alternatively, hovering = executives=20 limit or downright kill the creative urge. Either way, the = implication is=20 that the executive doesn=92t trust people, and that deflates = creativity.=20

Many listen with less than half attention, note the risk and = jump=20 immediately to what have become the key questions, Coyote noted: = =93How does=20 this solve our current problems? What=92s the payoff? How much by = when?=94 Of=20 course, when the answer is a long-term project, with long-term = potential=20 but little in the way of quick returns, the inspired idea is shot=20 down.

=93When pressure=92s intense, creativity is one of the first = casualties,=94=20 Coyote wrote.

To avoid this, remove fear from the organization and make = creative=20 thinking part of the culture. Innovation means doing something new = =97=20 something that may indeed fail. Sure, to share an idea is to put = oneself=20 at risk, but if people fear failing, they will not contribute = their ideas.=20 Imagine the impact this has on business innovation. Fear seems to = have no=20 place in a creative firm.

On the other hand, if a business is doing all it can to foster=20 creativity, perhaps it is not the managed environment that is the = problem.=20 Perhaps it is the seeming shortage of ideas, in which case we = might say=20 good ideas are killed =93in the head.=94

One misperception about creativity and innovation is that new = ideas=20 simply appear, according to Regina M. Pisa, chairman and managing partner = of Goodwin = Procter=20 LLP. =93There is a certain romance to the notion of the = =91brainstorm,=92=20 where revolutionary ideas magically present themselves. It is a = comforting=20 notion, that new ideas will simply arrive unannounced. It also = puts the=20 onus of delivery on the idea and not the individual,=94 Pisa wrote = in The Professional and Business Woman=92s Journal = last year.=20

Truly, breakthrough ideas rarely hatch overnight...

Yet many people, fearful that they=92ll never have another idea = "as good=20 as this one," will =93save=94 it for later. =93The truth is, the = more ideas you=20 have, the more ideas you=92ll have,=94 a senior innovation = consultant recently=20 wrote at Innovate Forum.

=93You=92ve got to prime the pump and leave the faucet on,=94 = the Innovate=20 Forum consultant wrote.

For ideas on how to overcome mental blocks to creativity, check = out our=20 Clever Ideas for Creative Thinking from = earlier this=20 summer.

Earlier:

Clever=20 Ideas for Creative Thinking

Cultivate=20 Corporate Creativity

Resources

How to Kill Creativity
by Carmine Coyote =
Slow=20 Leadership, April 2006

The Big Ten Innovation Killers and How to Keep Your = Innovation System Alive and Well
by Joyce Wycoff=20
InnovationNetwork

Ten Practical Steps to Keep Your Innovation System = Alive=20 & Well
by Joyce Wycoff
InnovationNetwork

Formally Foster Innovation and Inevitable = Change
by=20 Regina M. Pisa
The Professional and Business Woman=92s = Journal, February=20 2006

Creativity Killers - Watch Out!
by Carl = Robinson,=20 Ph.D.
Advanced Leadership Consulting, 2004

10 Reasons Why Most Ideas Die
by Sue=20 McPhail
Innovate Forum, July 17, 2006

Creativity Killers! 7 Sure-Fire Ways to Kill Your = Creativity=20 - And How to Avoid Them
by Dan Goodwin
ESL Teachers = Board

Top Three Creativity Killers
by Jesse=20 Bennett-Chamberlain
31Three, March = 2006

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Comments

I have an idea for a new tool and my problem is that nobody = wants to=20 help, they want hundreds of dollars from me upfront in order to = register=20 my tool invention and more money to build a prototype and, to be = honest, I=20 put it off because I can't afford to spend anything extra at this = time.=20 But I'll be willing to take some risks as long as my idea isn't = stolen=20 after I reveal what it is. I can trust anybody these days. Can you = help in=20 some way?

Best Regards and THANK YOU,

Rudolf K. Schneider
Teac America, Inc

Posted by: rudolf at October 2, 2007 2:56 PM

I had over 33 years in manufacturing, and this article is oh so = true!=20

When I worked in production and I had ideas to help those of us = on the=20 floor to minimize processes or make better parts that fit = correctly, the=20 engineers always shot those ideas down. I think it was because = they were=20 removed from the actual production of the product and they weren't = involved very much with what was going on. And I feel it was also = in part=20 because "they" didn't think of these ideas. You know, the = proverbial "I=20 have a 4 year degree and you don't" attitude.

When I moved into the Quality field, the company was not open = to any=20 new ideas whatsoever. Oh sure, they always stated that they had an = open=20 door policy, but it was almost like you were bothering them with = any new=20 ideas that deviated from the status quo. And then when they did = start=20 listening, they took credit for the new process or part or = whatever it was=20 that was being improved on. So yeah, why bother expressing new = ideas when=20 you are either squashed or someone else is going to take the = credit for=20 it!

Posted by: Jeff Davis at October 2, 2007 3:52 = PM

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October 2, 2007

They Shoot Good Ideas, Don't They?

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