Innovation Tip: Love them enough to Let them Go!

The Pain of Being an Idea Person

So you come up with a brilliant idea! You believe in it. You are confident that if taken forward, if implemented, it can bring positive change to your organization. 

But alas! You need the support or sponsorship of someone else - maybe higher up in the hierarchy - to implement it. You propose it - passionately, eloquently, convincingly. You make a proposal you think they cannot refuse. 

However, to your surprise, they dispose of your proposal, by throwing it into the intellectual dustbin, by burying it deep in the organizational cemetery of ideas.

You may discover later that someone else somewhere else implements your idea and brings significant transformation to perhaps not just their organization, but also to their industry.

And what you have done? You proposed, they disposed (of your idea, and you!).

_________________________________________________________

If you have faced some version of this situation, you should listen to me! I have been facing this many times now. I have found that my success rate in coming up with new ideas is pretty good, but alas, my failure rate in implementing them too has also been almost equally high, despite having the support of great team-mates. In at least three cases, the proposals that did not see the light of day in my organization were implemented and launched even on a national scale by none less than...

Let me not boast unforgivably! Let us understand why this happens.

_________________________________________________________

Other People's Children

Wish the world listened to Truman! Unfortunately, there are many out there who do not just want credit. They would even kill for it! Maybe not you, but your ideas, and in the process you! 

There are others who may not care about getting the credit. But they may also not care about organizational improvement either. Or they may, but only in their own small sphere of operation. They don't have time or inclination to invest any attention or energy in your idea.

In both cases above, your idea is foreign to them. It is not their baby, and hence they either actively resent it or are indifferent to it.

Bring up your Babies!

Your ideas are your babies. Don't just give birth to them and abandon them. Don't just put them in pre-school - i.e., propose them - and hope they will grow and become successful on their own!

Care for them! Nurture them, fight for them, argue for them, give them what they need to grow up and realize their potential. Even if that means fighting honorably against some regressive elements of your organization. 

Let them Go!

Let them adopt your baby! Show them the beauty of your baby and how it is related to them, so that your baby becomes their baby. Show them how your idea is integral to something that they care deeply about. And let them garner a fair share or all of the credit for the idea. Let them feel it is their own. Not easy, but necessary in some cases.

This I think would significantly improve the success of your ideas and innovations - your creations, your children. Especially in an environment that is hostile to new ideas. 

Post Script

Some studies show that people who originate lots of ideas are often lousy in executing them, in bringing them to completion. Yes, it is indeed very unfortunate if you have to fight out to make it happen. Organizations should foster new ideas and innovations, and make it easy for everyone to generate and execute them. Nevertheless, given the reality of most organizations and settings, we need to figure out various ways and techniques to make innovation happen. To let our babies succeed! 

Hope this article provides some value in this direction. Please do feel free to share your thoughts too. And don't forget to share it, if you think this could be of help to someone else too! Thank you!

Passionate about ideas and innovation? You may also like to read:

1. How an Idea Management System can make your organization more innovative
2. How to Implement an Idea Management System