We have this tendency to grab hold of an idea and squeeze the life out of it. We grasp it with such passion, such verve, that sometimes we aren’t capable of seeing when an idea just really isn’t that viable in the first place.
It’s the emotional connnection we have to our intellectual baby. Our ego gets wrapped up in it, and we’re married to the idea that somehow, someway, we have to make this idea work.
Here’s the thing. Not every idea needs to make it to the finish line. You don’t have to be faithful to them all. Sometimes, it’s okay to leave your ideas behind and crawl in bed with another one.
If you haven’t noticed, our world moves dizzingly fast today. It’s not just the technology. It’s our short-cut culture that wants and needs everything immediately, and as soon as we’re finished with that, we’re on to the next thing. We’re fickle. We’re disloyal. We’re easily distracted and…hey, was that a monkey?
Seriously. Your ideas are not sacrosanct. You’ll have good ones and not so good ones. They’re all disposable. There’s no waste created by tossing out an idea that won’t work. It’s okay. Feed it to the lions. Then dust yourself off and come up with a new one.
Fail fast. Break things. Retool them, trade them in, and be unfaithful to your ideas. Groundbreaking stuff doesn’t happen by sitting on the same mediocre perch and hoping that it will get better while you watch.
Be courageous enough to treat your ideas as replaceable, and eventually you’ll find that you’re merely making room for the one that stops you – and the world – in your tracks.
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Well said. I get excited about a few ideas, act on those ideas, and then eventually lose steam with some of them…sometimes all of them. I feel guilty and even a little stressed about it at first, but eventually attempt to let go of them and move on to the ideas that might actually be good.
Thanks.
Well said. I get excited about a few ideas, act on those ideas, and then eventually lose steam with some of them…sometimes all of them. I feel guilty and even a little stressed about it at first, but eventually attempt to let go of them and move on to the ideas that might actually be good.
Thanks.
Whats the old saying? Be will willing to let go of everything you hold on to… or something like that.
Good advice. The culmination of many ideas eventually leads to the one that is gold.
Whats the old saying? Be will willing to let go of everything you hold on to… or something like that.
Good advice. The culmination of many ideas eventually leads to the one that is gold.
Amber,
I like the concept, but am not sure it is that easily implemented by most of our population.
Past generations were raised on marrying ideas and focusing on the finish line. The new generations, not so much.
It is hard to be disloyal to what brought me this far – the thinking goes – since i have had good results so far.
I like the concept of quickly moving through ideas, but I think that the core belief of a specific goal must remain so you could remain focused on what you are doing.
else, you will end jumping from idea to idea without a clear or set goal.
Amber, thanks for the reminder to basically get the hell over yourself… which we all need.
Jealous attachment to your ideas mystifies where they come from, your endless potential for developing new ideas and how the whole creative process works. Giving yourself the permission to dismiss your ideas also gives you the unfettered permission to come up with new ones; sparkly, shiny brand-new ones that don’t have to be perfect- just new.
Amber,
I like the concept, but am not sure it is that easily implemented by most of our population.
Past generations were raised on marrying ideas and focusing on the finish line. The new generations, not so much.
It is hard to be disloyal to what brought me this far – the thinking goes – since i have had good results so far.
I like the concept of quickly moving through ideas, but I think that the core belief of a specific goal must remain so you could remain focused on what you are doing.
else, you will end jumping from idea to idea without a clear or set goal.
Amber, thanks for the reminder to basically get the hell over yourself… which we all need.
Jealous attachment to your ideas mystifies where they come from, your endless potential for developing new ideas and how the whole creative process works. Giving yourself the permission to dismiss your ideas also gives you the unfettered permission to come up with new ones; sparkly, shiny brand-new ones that don’t have to be perfect- just new.
This is a good reminder, Amber that not all ideas are created equal. We do need to let some go to allow for new one’s to take hold and be inspired all over again. I know that I live for those moments, when an idea clicks into place, and that feeling of alignment. Key is not to get hung up in it, because as you say, nothing stands still. My favorite line in your post:
“Groundbreaking stuff doesn’t happen by sitting on the same mediocre perch and hoping that it will get better while you watch.”
I think the trick is finding that balance to try/explore an idea out long enough to make that judgement call. Many times we are so impatient, we don’t wait out the time required for that miracle to happen. Things take time to germinate and blossom, like any thought garden. Thanks Amber for sharing this thought today.
This is a good reminder, Amber that not all ideas are created equal. We do need to let some go to allow for new one’s to take hold and be inspired all over again. I know that I live for those moments, when an idea clicks into place, and that feeling of alignment. Key is not to get hung up in it, because as you say, nothing stands still. My favorite line in your post:
“Groundbreaking stuff doesn’t happen by sitting on the same mediocre perch and hoping that it will get better while you watch.”
I think the trick is finding that balance to try/explore an idea out long enough to make that judgement call. Many times we are so impatient, we don’t wait out the time required for that miracle to happen. Things take time to germinate and blossom, like any thought garden. Thanks Amber for sharing this thought today.
Love this advice, Amber. To me, it relates to the fact that people hate change. They run from it. If something comes into play that may possibly alter the way you’ve done things, then they stay as far away as possible from it.
Reminding yourself that, as much as industries change and evolve, so do our own ideas and what goes on up in our strategic minds.
Sonny Gills last blog post..Ears Plugged
As an advertising “creative,” one of the first yet hardest things I learned from senior people was that taking criticism well is just as important as defending your ideas, maybe more so because our natural impulse is to overvalue and protect our own ideas. A former boss once said of me, “You take criticism well, just not on the day it’s given.” I’ve been trying to close up that gap ever since. This isn’t just a matter of attitude, though, but of seeing honestly what’s good in both my ideas and the reaction to my ideas. This is an active process.
The novelist Margot Livesey once said that one editor noted a passage had too many characters; a subsequent editor noted that the passage had too few characters. She said a lazy writer could say, “the comments cancel out” but that a good writer says, “there’s something wrong here and it has to do with characters.”
Love this advice, Amber. To me, it relates to the fact that people hate change. They run from it. If something comes into play that may possibly alter the way you’ve done things, then they stay as far away as possible from it.
Reminding yourself that, as much as industries change and evolve, so do our own ideas and what goes on up in our strategic minds.
Sonny Gills last blog post..Ears Plugged
As an advertising “creative,” one of the first yet hardest things I learned from senior people was that taking criticism well is just as important as defending your ideas, maybe more so because our natural impulse is to overvalue and protect our own ideas. A former boss once said of me, “You take criticism well, just not on the day it’s given.” I’ve been trying to close up that gap ever since. This isn’t just a matter of attitude, though, but of seeing honestly what’s good in both my ideas and the reaction to my ideas. This is an active process.
The novelist Margot Livesey once said that one editor noted a passage had too many characters; a subsequent editor noted that the passage had too few characters. She said a lazy writer could say, “the comments cancel out” but that a good writer says, “there’s something wrong here and it has to do with characters.”
Great post, Amber!
My 2 cents: this holds true on personal AND organizational levels. Most groups are equally reluctant to let go of their ideas as much as people are. Bring everyone, including yourself, to consider the new idea.
Remember: Twitter was a funky little side project at Odeo. Ode-who? Exactly.
Great post, Amber!
My 2 cents: this holds true on personal AND organizational levels. Most groups are equally reluctant to let go of their ideas as much as people are. Bring everyone, including yourself, to consider the new idea.
Remember: Twitter was a funky little side project at Odeo. Ode-who? Exactly.
I think we have to be self assured that some of our ideas will suck. If you go in with that mindset you are far more open to new ideas, new ways to learn things and new methods of doing something you thought you had down pat.
Good post.
Stuart Fosters last blog post..The Why? Social and Mobile Advancements
I think we have to be self assured that some of our ideas will suck. If you go in with that mindset you are far more open to new ideas, new ways to learn things and new methods of doing something you thought you had down pat.
Good post.
Stuart Fosters last blog post..The Why? Social and Mobile Advancements
Great reminder. Like most people, I have all sorts of ideas but couldn’t implement them all. Luckily my ego doesn’t get in the way of having to see all my ideas come to fruition, laziness always wins.
David Benjamins last blog post..Voices of Detroit #24—Buy Michigan Now and Reviews of Examiner.com
Great reminder. Like most people, I have all sorts of ideas but couldn’t implement them all. Luckily my ego doesn’t get in the way of having to see all my ideas come to fruition, laziness always wins.
David Benjamins last blog post..Voices of Detroit #24—Buy Michigan Now and Reviews of Examiner.com
Great advice Amber. Contributing to another person’s idea and building that up can often be more valuable (and get you noticed) more than fighting to the death for you idea.
Rick Lieblings last blog post..Pepsi Branding: Confusion or Strategy?
Great advice Amber. Contributing to another person’s idea and building that up can often be more valuable (and get you noticed) more than fighting to the death for you idea.
Rick Lieblings last blog post..Pepsi Branding: Confusion or Strategy?
Good post Amber. Here’s my challenge and maybe others, as well. Every new idea immnediately becomes a passion, and I throw it to the lions (i.e., others around the table). As voices grow louder, I quickly learn to fight harder for the idea or let it go. Unfortunately, the process wears others out, and before long those around the table learn to remain mum when I offer an idea. Process matters.
Lewis Greens last blog post..Is the Customer Always Right?
Good post Amber. Here’s my challenge and maybe others, as well. Every new idea immnediately becomes a passion, and I throw it to the lions (i.e., others around the table). As voices grow louder, I quickly learn to fight harder for the idea or let it go. Unfortunately, the process wears others out, and before long those around the table learn to remain mum when I offer an idea. Process matters.
Lewis Greens last blog post..Is the Customer Always Right?
Lewis raises a great point. It’s a fine line to walk between fighting for a fledgling project’s life and letting go of non-starters, and mastering the nuances of team dynamics is key, too.
You want to be seen as a finisher. You want to have good ideas that turn into homeruns. You want to rescue flagging projects from life support. But you also want to keep your team in your corner, and sometimes that means knowing when to let it go.
Lewis raises a great point. It’s a fine line to walk between fighting for a fledgling project’s life and letting go of non-starters, and mastering the nuances of team dynamics is key, too.
You want to be seen as a finisher. You want to have good ideas that turn into homeruns. You want to rescue flagging projects from life support. But you also want to keep your team in your corner, and sometimes that means knowing when to let it go.
Amber,
I agree with you…to an extent. Unfortunately, in the blogosphere things are taken too literally from great practitioners, like yourself. I think one of the big problems we have as an industry and society is that we are always looking at the next biggest/new thing. What’s next? We don’t give enough time to nurture ideas and sort out problems. People give up too fast. I completely agree with Lewis and Scott…there must be a balance. We have to learn to let go…at the right time.
Lauren Vargass last blog post..Third time is a charm!
Amber,
I agree with you…to an extent. Unfortunately, in the blogosphere things are taken too literally from great practitioners, like yourself. I think one of the big problems we have as an industry and society is that we are always looking at the next biggest/new thing. What’s next? We don’t give enough time to nurture ideas and sort out problems. People give up too fast. I completely agree with Lewis and Scott…there must be a balance. We have to learn to let go…at the right time.
Lauren Vargass last blog post..Third time is a charm!
Very important lesson, Amber. Clinging to an idea can be such an encumberance to success or growth in so many arenas. And it’s especially pertinent to someone like me who’s diving into this social media world after spending 30 years working in traditional media and the last 10 speaking on it! Grasping the integration of traditional into social is aided by thinkers like you. And understanding that ideas are fluid is a BIG part of that!
Steve Gainess last blog post..Is it Art, or is it Hanging on the Fridge?
Very important lesson, Amber. Clinging to an idea can be such an encumberance to success or growth in so many arenas. And it’s especially pertinent to someone like me who’s diving into this social media world after spending 30 years working in traditional media and the last 10 speaking on it! Grasping the integration of traditional into social is aided by thinkers like you. And understanding that ideas are fluid is a BIG part of that!
Steve Gainess last blog post..Is it Art, or is it Hanging on the Fridge?
Amber, yours has been one of the most unusual blogs which I have visited.
Amber, yours has been one of the most unusual blogs which I have visited.
Love this post. I would write more here, but I need to go tell evryone to read this! Thanks
Love this post. I would write more here, but I need to go tell evryone to read this! Thanks
@Amber: I’m in the process of breaking many ideas now. Thanks for the extra nudge … and encouragement. Failure and change can be a quick road to success, right?
Also – I think @Lauren (comment above) makes an excellent point about “always looking for the next big thing.” While important, we have to ensure that we continue to move forward. As Lauren says, “We have to learn to let go…at the right time.” (just followed you on Twitter, Lauren).
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
(Amber – no gravatars? What gives?)
DJ Waldows last blog post..Egencia Is No Priceline: How are we doing?
@Amber: I’m in the process of breaking many ideas now. Thanks for the extra nudge … and encouragement. Failure and change can be a quick road to success, right?
Also – I think @Lauren (comment above) makes an excellent point about “always looking for the next big thing.” While important, we have to ensure that we continue to move forward. As Lauren says, “We have to learn to let go…at the right time.” (just followed you on Twitter, Lauren).
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
(Amber – no gravatars? What gives?)
DJ Waldows last blog post..Egencia Is No Priceline: How are we doing?
I think it’s important to have a system in place that allows you to measure the idea by answering questions that not only have to do with the external marketplace but what you are capable of internally as a company.
Brandon R Allens last blog post..First Steps for Testing Your Product/Service
I think it’s important to have a system in place that allows you to measure the idea by answering questions that not only have to do with the external marketplace but what you are capable of internally as a company.
Brandon R Allens last blog post..First Steps for Testing Your Product/Service
Right on – this is very similar to Seth Godin’s book called The Dip. He talks about how some ideas are worth pursuing, others are dead ends. The smart ones are able to distinguish between the two. Basically, it’s OK to quit. Quit smartly.
Andrews last blog post..Music Business Weekly Wrap-Up
Right on – this is very similar to Seth Godin’s book called The Dip. He talks about how some ideas are worth pursuing, others are dead ends. The smart ones are able to distinguish between the two. Basically, it’s OK to quit. Quit smartly.
Andrews last blog post..Music Business Weekly Wrap-Up
Hi Amber,
Just came across your website via Twitter and really enjoyed this post. As much as the perfectionist in me wants to hold onto ideas, the new media-ite in me understands that letting them go is actually the best way to perfect them (the wisdom of crowds and all that).
Also this made me think of an interesting essay I read on the importance of deliberately putting our ideas out into the world before they’re complete: http://www.changethis.com/58.01.CreativeElegance
Kirstin
Kirstin Butlers last blog post..digestif | demographics
Hi Amber,
Just came across your website via Twitter and really enjoyed this post. As much as the perfectionist in me wants to hold onto ideas, the new media-ite in me understands that letting them go is actually the best way to perfect them (the wisdom of crowds and all that).
Also this made me think of an interesting essay I read on the importance of deliberately putting our ideas out into the world before they’re complete: http://www.changethis.com/58.01.CreativeElegance
Kirstin
Kirstin Butlers last blog post..digestif | demographics
A fantastic, concise post, Amber. Fail fast and be agile — critical skills. Plus, the longer you hold on to that great idea you have, the quicker someone else with that same idea is going to make it real.
A fantastic, concise post, Amber. Fail fast and be agile — critical skills. Plus, the longer you hold on to that great idea you have, the quicker someone else with that same idea is going to make it real.
Loved the post. Every ideas that we have today were unfamiliar & unknown yesterday.
Love this post!