Two weeks ago I was leading an American Marketing Association workshop about how to gain approval and adoption of new ideas. We covered the first four items on the following list through a series exercises and then I asked everyone which of #5 - 10 they most wanted to spend time on.
1. What’s at stake?
2. Make the status quo unappealing
3. Use the SCARF model
4. Uncover the hidden motives
5. It’s an experiment
6. What’s the real issue?
7. Move away from drama
8. Befriend the Bureaucratic Black Belts
9. Stay under the radar
10. Know when to quit
People loved #10. I have to confess I was surprised and perhaps not prepared enough. How do you know when it's time to let an idea go? Or stop trying to get a project funded? Or get people interested in adopting a new way? Or even leave a job?
Here's what I suggested:
- Rate importance: Ask your boss or client how important a particular project is to them on a scale of 1 - 10. If it's below six, it's just not that important. At this point you'll probably have a hard time getting it to 9 or 10. If they say 7 or 8, ask them what it what would make it a 9 or 10. Then listen very carefully.
- Just ask: "We've been talking about this idea for a while, but it doesn't seem to be moving ahead. I think it helps us (insert important organizational goal). What do you think is holding it back? What advice can you give me?"
- Is the energy waning? Do fewer people show up for meetings about the idea? Is the idea put early on the agenda (probably still interested) or last (if we don't get to it, no big deal.)? Is it even on management meeting agendas?
- Not performance objective worthy: If you set your annual performance objectives and your boss doesn't view your big idea as an important for your objectives, he or she doesn't think the idea is important.
- How much are your colleagues willing to help? If your work friends just aren't into helping you with the idea, it may signal that they don't see the value of it. Another sign that it may be time to quit the idea.
- Are you becoming not yourself? If you're starting to be angry, judgmental or righteous, this might be a sign that it's time to let go.
Yogi Berra allegedly once said, "If the people don't want to come, there's nothing we can do to stop them."
Sometimes the time isn't right for an idea. We rebel thinkers work ahead of most people, and it takes a while for them to catch up with our ideas. Sometimes you just need to wait a while and reintroduce the idea.
Sometimes you may need to more clearly communicate the value and relevance of the idea. It's easy after a while to get so down into the weeds of how a project or idea will work that people have forgotten why it's such a good idea in the first place. (Go to #1 on the list: show them what's at stake, what the idea makes possible and how that's so much better than what exists today.)
Don't beat yourself up or take on all that failure language or people will begin to see you as a problem person vs. the creative person who knows how to come up with great ideas.
Even if this was the greatest idea you think you've ever developed, know that there will be more great ideas. Creativity doesn't stop.
Unless, of course, you spend all your energy hanging on too long to an idea no one cares about.