Getting to ‘yes’
As you lead your team, have you found you’re more apt to say “yes” than “no” when someone brings you a really good, innovative idea? Research says most of us lean toward the negative, according to this article from Inc., and that can be a problem.
Inc. cites a University of San Diego experiment in which managers were found to be more likely to say “no” to ideas that customers were enthusiastic about. The experimenters found that “managers perceive the most creative ideas as impossible, even when those ideas are completely practical.”
Think about that person who reflexively disagrees with you no matter what you say (and you know who they are). Doubting the people around you can become a seriously ingrained habit – and a dangerous one. What innovation are you missing because you initially perceive a good idea as being too risky or too difficult?
Inc. had some suggestions for figuring out if an idea is worth taking a chance on – what they called “an adoption litmus test.” Here are the top things you should consider:
