Half my ideas are stupid (and that's the way I like it)

I've never thought of myself as an "idea person," really. There are some people who can sit alone in a room, and their head is so full of new ideas they just dribble out their ears. That's not me.

What I've recently realized is that I am an idea machine - I just need conversation with others to fuel it. When other people talk about what they're up to, thoughts are constantly popping into my head - ideas, different perspectives, possible ways of approaching things, etc.

What I've learned over the years of working with clients is that:

1) I've got a lot of ideas
2) Half of them are stupid
3) The other half are exactly what's needed

This post is really about allowing yourself to have #2 so you can get to #3.

When I first start working with clients, I tell them that things will pop into my head and immediately out of my mouth. Some of those things will lead to juicy insights or exploration, and others will simply fall flat. I've really disconnected my idea flow from the need for those ideas to be right, or clever, or wise. I know that half of them will be schlock, and that's OK.

If I try to censor so that I only offer up the really good ones, I'm doomed. Not least because I really have no idea which ones are the really good ones until they're out of my head and into the open.

There's something incredibly freeing about just being able to have ideas, and not tying your ego to how amazing each and every one is. And it unclogs the pipeline to make sure that the absolute best ones make their way out to a place where they can be put to use.

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM

Comments

[heather]

a few years ago i learned that i am also an "idea machine". realizing this made me feel a lot better about being quieter than some of the other members in a brainstorming session. i would contribute some, but often i'd mull and come back with a battery of amazing ideas a few hours later. it's good to grow, stretch yourself, but it's also good to embrace your personal style and make it work for you.

first time i've posted here, btw. good stuff curt, keep it up! :-)

[Troy Worman]

Excellent post.

I am an idea machine, as well, sometimes to my detriment. Early in my career I came across has having a lack of focus or a lack of attention to detail, because I was unable to boil down my conceptional ideas into digestable nuggets. Overtime, I have learned how to control the flow a bit--long enough to apply some structure--some scientific method--to frame up the notion for the selling.