8/8/2019 22 Ways to Kill an Idea

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22 WAYS TO KILL AN IDEA

“22 ways to kill an idea” is useful as a handout at meetings where new andinnovative ideas need to be generated.

The facilitator can quickly review these (with humour if at all possible) as away of requesting participants to refrain from idea-killing behaviour.

If there is enough good humour and trust among the participants and thefacilitator, the facilitator can set up a system for the meeting whereby theparticipant that is caught (by other participants) with the most offences mustbuy a round for all other participants.

The following are guaranteed ways to destroy the creativity and innovationwhich are the life blood of productive meetings.

1. Ignore ItDead silence will intimidate all but the most hardened advocates of anidea.

2. See it Coming and DodgeIf you see an idea coming, quickly change the subject, or better stillend the meeting.

3. Scorn ItIf you decide it, especially before the idea has been fully explained you

will destroy anyone’s confidence.

4. Laugh it Off 

5. Praise it to DeathDoing this will guarantee everyone else hates the idea and theoriginator will wonder what’s wrong with it.

6. Mention that it has never been triedAll the better if it’s a novel solution.

7. Prove that it isn’t newIf you make it look like something known, then the fact that this is better may not emerge.

8. Observe that it’s against policySince nobody knows what policy is you’re probably right.

9. Mention what it will costEspecially if this is much less than what it saves. Of course, on theother hand if “it doesn’t cost anything then it can’t be worth anything”.

10. Oh we’ve tried it all beforeEspecially if the originator is new this will show him he’s an outsider.

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11. Cast the right aspersionGood put-downs will draw ready applause and few ideas will survivethat.

12. Find a competitive ideaThis is dangerous as you might end up with an idea.

13. Produce twenty good reasons why it won’t workThe reason it will work is then lost.

14. Modify if out of existenceYou seem to be helping it along and by the time the originator wakesup it is lost.

15. Encourage doubt about ownership

“Didn’t Joe suggest the same idea”. While they’re wondering the ideawill whither and die.

16. Damn it by association of ideasConnect it to someone’s pet hate and they’ll kill it for you.

17. Try to chip bits off itIt may come to pieces

18. Make a personal attack on the originator They’ll spend so long defending themselves they’ll forget the idea.

19. Score a technical knockoutBring up some unfamiliar regulation or use technical jargon to obscurethe idea.

20. Postpone it

21. Let a committee sit on it

22. Encourage the author to look for a better idea

Usually a discouraging quest.