Respect people, break ideas

Innovation is deeply personal.

It is our human ingenuity and creativity and drive that spawn ideas and transform them into an innovative product, service, or venture.

And it is our own human failings that make innovation work challenging.

Think about what we are actually asking for when we ask somebody for an idea. We are asking them to stand up in front of colleagues and say "Here is something that does not exist, and I believe it should."

There is no data to hide behind, because the thing has never been done. There is plenty of empty space to investigate and fill. So they put part of themselves into it. Every idea carries a piece of its creator; and so does every innovation brought to life.

This self-insertion is vital for caring about the idea and for willingness to endure what it takes to bring it to life. But it also makes all the criticism more difficult to endure. It is also why merged ideas often fall flat, why two-year-old innovation projects are so hard to stop, and why people leave when their ideas die.

My working rule is to treat the idea roughly and the person gently, and to be rather explicit about that fact. We must be able to push back on the ideas, inquire into difficult questions, and explore the gaps.

"This is your idea, and everything I am about to say is meant to make it better. If something I say about the idea sounds harsh, it is aimed at the idea. It is not aimed at you."

Then we go to work on it properly. Hard questions, awkward evidence, the overlooked assumptions.

We put their idea to the test, and not them.

Subtle, but vital difference.