Helping others give you great ideas
Opinions are like noses, everybody has one. However, great ideas are more than personal opinions. Great ideas enable individuals and organizations to fulfill their vision. Before asking for input, explain the vision.
*****
How to get ideas you don’t want?
I always hate it when a presenter asks me, “How do you think I did?” My preferences aren’t relevant and may not be useful. My nose is no better than your nose.
When presenters ask for feedback I always ask, “What were you trying to accomplish?” It’s surprising how many presenters are stumped. Sometimes they say something stupid like, “I wanted to inform the audience.” In this case, I advise them to choose a desired outcome that reaches beyond information before they stand in front of an audience and open their mouth. I’ll say something like, “If all you want to do is inform, send a memo.” Usually the conversation ends there.
Great ideas have context.
If you don’t clearly explain the problem you’re solving or the vision you’re achieving, everyone’s opinion is equal. Choosing one idea over another is ambiguous. Without a clear context, you’ll choose the idea of the most powerful person in the room. Or, if the participants share equal status, the most articulate person in the room wins. The decision has little to do with vision. Clear context enables both great ideas and wise choices.
First explain the desired outcome, if you begin with the end in mind, you’ll enable others to give you great ideas.
*****
How can we help others give us great ideas?
Dear Dan,
I agree that great ideas are more than personal opinions. It is because personal opinions might be based on limited assumptions or experiences whereas great ideas are based on various perspective, experiences and examples of people, circumstances and environment from different walks of life. So, great ideas are rich in context.
The outcome of idea and action is experience. Personal experience may percolates few ideas whereas many experiences percolate many ideas.
So, ideas with support and evidences have more weight and often reliable. But idea without evidence carries no weight. If we want to help others to give great ideas, the best way is to sensitize them. This can be done by putting them into similar situations so that they can feel it, sense it and experience it. It also enhances maturity in decisions and ideas. When we know where we want to go, it becomes easier to chose the route. Today, ideas are mostly based on articulation and not action. This is the reason, why organizations fail. They have ideas, but no action. It is very true that clear context enables both great ideas and wise choices.
Ideas are like building in air execution materialize them. Ideas are willing and doing make it alive, otherwise they are dead.
One of the neatest leadership processes my friend Erl Stinson of http://deepminddynamics.com taught me: Call attention to the idea, in conversation, thank the person as if it was a gift and then apply the idea in action.
If you really want to shock their dopamine receptors, recall the event in a future conversation with another group, and then publicly rethank that person.
There is a lot of brain dynamics reasons why this is effective but it comes down to the feeling of being appreciated for giving ideas is like a drug. It becomes an action people are ‘addicted’ to.
Dan is taking off the kid gloves today!
What is the recipe for great ideas? Ever make a loaf of fresh bread, great experience.
What I read between the lines of your first observation is around PwP, presentation with passion. If you are going to present, do it with something you believe in and need support in otherwise you may just be stroking your ego. (Ouch, that is close to home, I am guilty of not framing presentations with as much conviction as needed.) Speaks to the importance of preparation too of course and a dash of vulnerability. Having all of the ingredients on hand for any recipe increases the chance for an excellent meal. No yeast, no rise.
With vision focused and expectations defined (context), while you may be following the recipe, there is room and time for variation. Results (new ideas) have a better chance of occurring if all options are considered. Ah, fermentation!
This is where the kneading comes in too. It still requires a deft hand, mixing the right ingredients at the right time, in the right amounts, not letting one overpower the rest. Maybe even some more minor experimentation happens.
Eventually, refining the mix and cooking the first loaf is needed to see what kind of results you get. If you got it right, you will know, you will catch that excellent first fragrance of something baking that will be great. Not much smells better than fresh baked bread.
Once that bread is sliced and shared, there should be time for celebration and appreciation for all involved in the success. Identify what worked, what might be considered and of course what didn’t work and on to the next loaf.
Helping others is a product of generosity created by self inclination towards the service of society which ultimetly leads to the generation of new ideas , the sense of service to the society always drive the leaders and propel them to invent and reinvent the new ideas , thought process and creativity , A man without vision and creativity is nothing but a Mummy . A leader always expose himself to different tarrain and situation so that he can experiance the real feel and apply it later on.
The great ideas comes comes to whom who is willing to take a call and risk themselves and ready the brace the failure as well .
Helping others gives a vision and differiante between the leaders and followers .
Ideas are the source of insipiration and revolution .
Dear Dan,
When I present my business etiquette seminars, I must be in my “element..” Asking “How did I do” is pointless because I’m the best judge of my performance. “Speak from the heart, teach from the heart, present from the heart” — that is my advice.
Loved your article!
Lyudmila Bloch, Business Etiquette Expert and Coach
Dear Dan,
A fantastic article, as usual. I appreciate your insight from the point of being asked for feedback as well. When folks ask me their opinions, I usually feel much like you expressed above and I try to hone their query into a ‘real’ question. Because it’s just my opinion and even at that, a good answer from me depends on context and direction. It makes for a good reminder as a speaker.
On the other side of the fence, as a presenter/teacher, I’m usually giving a speech or instructing on a subject (or project) that my audience knows little about. My great desire (and fear of not accomplishing) is not to talk over their heads and to bring whatever might seem nebulous into focus. Essentially, demystifying the subject so it becomes approachable and/or interesting. I will often afterward ask a friend whom I trust, “Did it make sense? Was anything unclear?” My goal is to translate what I know like the back of my hand into a language that can be embraced by everyone so they come away with new perspectives or skills.
However, this may not be the best way to ask for an evaluation. Your article leaves me to ponder on how to improve in this area. Thanks for the perspective!
Blessings,
Julia
…Sorry, that would be “ask me for opinions…” LOL
I’ve always lived by the idea that if you want a better answer, ask a better question. Make the questions you ask others more open-ended…it may seem like their answers are off, but when you ruminate on them, that begin to make sense.