17 Ways to Murder an Idea

Another great article from Exchange Everyday-

A promotional booklet entitled "Imagine" put out by the consulting firm Synecrticsworld lists "17 Ways to Murder an Idea." Here are my favorities...

• See it coming and quickly change the subject.
• Ignore it. Dead silence intimidates all but the most enthusiastic.
• Feign interest but do nothing about it. This at least prevents the originator from taking it elsewhere.
• Laugh it off. "Ho, ho, ho, that's a good one, Joe. You must have been up all night thinking that up.
• Modify it out of existence...You seem to be helping the idea along, just changing it a bit here and there. By the time the originator realizes what's happening, the idea is dead.
• Drown it in cold water, as in "We don't have the staff to do it...the intangible risks would be too great...that's all well in theory, but in real life..."

I hope this will serve as a reminder to myself and others that listening and really hearing people and their ideas is extremely important.