Implementing Good Ideas

Written by Dan Schaefer

Having worked in high-tech for nearly 30 years, I’ve learned a lot about the sort of politics that goes on in the office, especially the politics associated with good ideas. Ideally, good ideas are rewarded with raises and promotions, but in my observation, things don’t always turn out that way. Often what may seem like good ideas are condemned to premature deaths because they were either bad ideas, or – more likely – the person who championed the good ideas failed to navigate the political waters with sufficient skill. To be sure, I’ve seen some good ideas go the distance and end up as products that make lots of money, and I’ve paid close attention to the way it happens.

So, in the spirit of brevity, I’ll summarize my observations into a short list of ten tips on how to get your good ideas implemented.

Write it down. Unless you can implement a good idea within the next minute, write it down and revisit it an hour later. Then revisit it the next day. And the next day after that. In engineering terms, this is a sort of low-pass filter that allows only the dedicated ideas to pass through. It is important to sit on the idea for a number of days because your subconscious mind needs to look at it from many different angles to evaluate whether indeed it is good enough to take to the next step. If a week has passed and it still seems like a good idea, then . . .
Keep it to yourself for now. I don’t recommend hoarding good ideas, but if you have such an idea, then don’t blurt it out until you’ve had time to investigate it. If you find that the good idea simply cannot be accomplished or is somehow flawed, you haven’t ruined your credibility by blurting it out. Spend as much time as needed to investigate the idea, but don’t spend too much time or your mind will get tired of it. Or worse, it will latch onto another good idea and completely forget about the original idea.
Prototype it. Often good ideas can be prototyped. Perhaps it’s a new software algorithm or maybe it’s a mechanical machine. Depending on what it is, you may not be able to prototype it. If it’s not possible to prototype it, then do the next best thing – build it in your head. What would it take to build it? How many resources? How much time will it require to fully implement? By constructing a prototype, you will gain familiarity with the idea and decide whether or not it’s feasible.
Take it to the boss. Having completed your investigation, you’re now ready to propose it to your boss. Don’t expect immediate accolades. You may be ignored. Understand that your boss has other things on his or her mind, and he may hesitate to allocate resources to support your idea. It doesn’t mean that your idea is bad, but it may mean that you need to do more convincing.
Talk it over with friends and colleagues. Get feedback. Maybe someone else has already worked on this idea. Maybe it can be improved somehow. Feedback can tell you whether you’re on the right track, and it can help you focus on areas where you are more likely to find success. On the downside, your colleagues may point out why your idea is flawed. Take all criticism from your boss and your colleagues and . . .
Keep your ego in check. Maybe it’s a bad idea and needs to be dropped. Maybe it’s a good idea. In either case, don’t let your ego cloud your vision. Sometimes your baby wasn’t meant to live. Save your energy for the next good idea. On the other hand, if the idea still looks good at this stage, then you need to understand the dynamics of team work and . . .
Sell it. If you still think it’s a good idea, then build a groundswell of support among your colleagues. Convince them that the idea is sound and should be implemented. By the time the groundswell hits your boss, he or she may already be on board. But the selling doesn’t stop there. You now have to help your boss sell it up the management ladder, up to the person who has the authority to allocate the resources. By the way, don’t underestimate the value of reaching into different departments to build the groundswell. For example, if your idea will help customers directly, you may find support among the field engineers and salesmen. I’ve seen dozens of cases where using the Sales department made the difference between a successful idea and one that died in infancy.
Share it. Assuming you now have the resources necessary to implement the idea, share all work you’ve done up to this point. By this time, you’ve already stroked your ego as being the person who originally came up with the idea, so there’s no need to hoard or play games. Understand that the idea is still in its infancy and needs all the nourishment it can get, and the more people help out, the stronger it will get.
Know when to back off. Sometimes your idea will take a different direction as it grows and receives contributions from others. This is the nature of growth. Don’t fight it. Every good idea spawns lots of other supporting ideas, and you can’t be the one to come up with all of them. You may still need to guide the original idea, and this may cause disagreement among members of the implementation team. In all cases, keep your ego in check and select the best supporting idea to help your central idea grow, even if it isn’t your supporting idea.
Share the credit. Yes, the idea was yours, and maybe you made a million dollars for the company. But no man is an island. Your idea would be nothing if you were in isolation with no colleagues, no boss and no management. So understand that a lot of credit is due to people other than yourself. Don’t shy away from credit when it comes your way, however. If you’ve played the game correctly to this point, you’ll get a ton of credit. Just remember to take it with an ounce of humility. Given proper credit, people will be more willing to support you on your next great idea. And you will have more. Trust me. There’s an infinite supply.