Do bad ideas scare you? Are you frozen by the thought of coming up with a plan that might not work? Does it have to be perfect before you launch the idea?
I love brainstorming. The process of coming up with ideas to attack a problem. Lots of ideas, some bad, some good and some great. The thing is though a lot of people only want to discuss the great. I get that, but usually there are a lot of "bad" ones before getting to that great one. The part of brainstorming I like best is that it involves others. See I might come up with a good idea once in a great while, but with a group the chance that we come up with a great idea is a lot better. Oh, there might be a lot of ideas that get tossed to the side in the process, but we each play a part in refining the idea. Never understood the leader who doesn't bring in others as part of the team. Others take offense if their "perfect" idea gets thrown out. It scares them to the point of shutting down. They get bogged down in the details and start arguing their idea without listening. I want to hold on loosely to my ideas. Some that I think might be really good ones, turn out to be bad. That's okay because it is a process to find the best, not about me coming up with the perfect idea.
So are you tentative with your ideas? Do you wait until you have all of your ducks in row before tossing an idea out? Do bad ideas scare you? Wonder how many bad ideas we need to sort through before we find the right one?
2 comments:
Yes. I want to live in that world. I have to admit that I'm pretty self concious. I'm afraid that people might judge me for not having it (or not having it all immidiately). I want to be in that world with people who recognize the process, where it's "us" rather than "me", where you feel comfortable, where it's ok to be "an idiot" for Jesus.
(another kenneth Stewart question.... Is this possible? How?)
Jamie,
I believe it is possible. How is a tougher question. For me, it means when I am in that environment, whether leading or as part of the discussion, that I have to be willing to throw those ideas out there. It might not be comfortable for me, but maybe it will open the door for someone else. I have recently been told that is part of my role - being the questioner. If those questions or ideas make it easier for someone else then I guess I will learn to be okay with being the "idiot". Not perfect at this by any means, but still need to keep trying.
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