Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality

the purpose of disagreement is to more fully explore the options.

Teams should not strive for complete consensus at the outset of a project. After all, consensus-driven teams run the risk of settling on what offends no one and satisfies no one. Early and complete consensus is comfortable but almost always unremarkable. Leaders of creative teams should identify and highlight the noteworthy, memorable solutions at

A study done in one large Fortune 500 company asked employees to complete a survey about who they go to for help. Whether it was a computer question, a finance inquiry, or something about the history of the business, employees were asked to provide the names of their “go-to” people. Once the data points were collected, researchers mapped it out to

Some of the most admired creative teams share a common tenet—they are comfortable fighting out their disagreements and diverse points of view, but they always share conviction after the meeting.

you are placing your projects according to how much energy they should receive based on their importance.

Every creative person and team needs a Room Three. As we build teams and develop a creative process, our tendency is to privilege the no-holds-barred creativity of Room One. But the idea bloodshed that occurs in Room Three is just as important as the wild ideation of Room One.

It is typical that in creative environments spontaneous idea generation gets in the way of following through on any particular idea. The wise creative leader understands that idea generation is a wild animal that requires a stolid trainer to tame excitement with a healthy dose of skepticism. You need to say “no” more than you say “yes,” and you nee

While it can be psychologically and financially difficult to depart from the race toward conventional rewards after a lifetime working with one mind-set, doing so is imperative to succeeding in the long term. Otherwise, you will struggle to sustain your long-term projects amidst the desire to be validated in the near term.

Yet, among the hundreds of successful creatives I’ve interviewed, a fearless approach to sharing ideas is one of the most common attributes. Why? Because having the idea is just one tiny step along the road to making that idea happen.