Ideas are easier to move forward on when they are someone else’s, preferably the person who is deciding.
The bulk of the progress I have made has come from embracing other people’s ideas. In many instances, these were my ideas, as much as anyone can have an original thought. To people working closely with me, it looks like I’m implanting my ideas in decision-makers’ heads only to be conveniently regurgitated. It seems like inception. I can promise you that I’m not entering people’s dream states to implant ideas, and I don’t have superpowers.
The truth is much more fundamental. Typically, two things are going on:
- Mise en place or “everything in its place.”
- A proximate solution is almost always better than “my” solution.
There are some critical elements here.
- You need to understand your outcome.
- You need to know the multiple pathways to a successful outcome.
- What speeds it up?
- What slows it down?
- You should know the steps required to get there.
- You should be aware of critical pre-conditions.
- Ideally, you should have a good idea of what comes next.
So much of this comes back to The Briefcase Technique.
Mise en place
You see mise en place when you walk into a Chipotle or Subway. Everything that your meal requires is prepared and laid out thoughtfully for assembly.
Mise en place is a French culinary concept meaning “everything in its place.” In the culinary world, +80% of the work is done, often before opening, to ensure that service goes smoothly. Kitchen staff inventory, prepare and organize every element of the menu.
If you walked into a fully prepped kitchen and I said, “we need to make an omelet,” you’d grab a pan, oil, eggs, and start working through the meats, veggies, and cheese you think belong in an omelet. If the prep station had diverse ingredients (i.e., a large budget), you might get more creative (salmon and goat cheese!). The same could be said for a more stripped-down prep station.
Mise en place is how you achieve inception. Your audience is trying to solve the same problem as you, and it is your job to layout (prep) the opportunity thoughtfully. The way you frame a problem (“we need to make an omelet”), share possible solutions (ingredients + tools), and introduce constraints (budget, speed, and partners), will define the outcome. If you do this well, one of two things will happen.
- Your audience will regurgitate your solution.
- Your audience will give you a better solution, often based mainly on your suggested solution (a scramble!)
Sticking with the breakfast analogy, if your audience recommends waffles, we’re off base:) We’re either solving the wrong problem or miscommunicated some aspect of the setup.
The 80% of work you’re doing
Proximate Solutions
I think many people assume that their idea is the A+ idea and that slight deviations are not as good, for whatever reason. The fact of the matter is that we’re usually looking for solutions that aren’t likely to fail, so let’s call them C+.
“Perfect is the enemy of the good.” – Voltaire
This quote is used so often it might sound trite, but it is a critical management and consensus-building tool. This is where proximate solutions come in. If you’re pitching an idea and someone has a slight tweak that doesn’t threaten the project’s outcome, take it. Their thumbprint on your project is worth far more than you might think.
As expert or experienced as I might be in my profession, the same can be said for pretty much everyone I work with. I could have put some great thinking into a problem, experience, perspective, and even just distance from the problem can yield much better results.
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