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Ideas can become monsters, a living thing that grows and spurs out of control.
Especially in big organizations, where there are too many stakeholders that are opinionated and like to meddle in the details. Forget about stakeholder management, how the hell are we suppose to stop a downward rolling snowball?!
☃️ The 4th condition is to understand that ideas evolve, and there is so little we can do about it. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.
Once the person, team, or even organization is invested into an idea, it starts to take a shape on its own.
Why? Because people are emotional, and we definitely get attached to ideas. And the more people get involved, the more it spurs out of control. Yes, there is opportunity in chaos. But if a collaboration spirit isn’t evident, and their logical reasoning is not channeled (as a perspective) adequately into the evolving idea. Oh well, then brace yourself for the ride of a lifetime.
Only if you have an intrapreneurial skill set and mad negotiation capabilities, can you maneuver such treacherous waters.
⚡️ You can channel people’s perspectives into an idea, but you cannot channel ideas into people. It has to come from them, and when they feel their ideas are heard and incorporated. Let’s just say things get easier.
I don’t really have a simple answer for this one, though it is crystal clear that ideas evolve. Just like when they get adopted by the society or market, we become spectators rather than main innovation drivers. Accept that, and you will develop an ability to recognize the natural process of ideas growing.
“The river knows the way to the sea: Without a pilot it runs and falls, Blessing all lands with its charity” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.