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“Ok… what might you do next?”
My coaching client just told me she shared her new idea with a key stakeholder. While the conversation went well and there was interest – there wasn’t excitement.
She was looking for more confirmation than that.
After a bit of thinking… my client said, “I’m going to go back to the drawing board. Build more into the idea.”
"Don't just think, do."
I used to do this too. 🙂
‘If I just think some more… I’ll come up with even better stuff. Then they’ll be as excited about this as I am.’ – I thought.
If you find yourself thinking the same thing…
🛑 Stop right there.
Thinking more is not going to help you right now.
Our brain is built to be cautious about new ideas. Back when we were in caveman survival mode, new things could be very dangerous.
So it’s pretty much expected that most people aren’t as excited about your ideas as you are… yet.
At this point, there’s no major flaws with the idea. The stakeholder didn’t raise any red flags.
So… it’s time to make it real. A prototype. A pilot. Something super small, messy, and scrappy.
Make the first draft, knowing it’s not going to be perfect… or right for that matter.
Look forward to crumpling it up into a ball and throwing away!
But you have to bring it to life – outside of your head – outside of words. A sketch. A mock presentation. A test website. A run-through.
Only then, when you try to put the pieces together, will you learn what really works and what doesn’t.
Because theory doesn’t usually play out in real life as expected. It just doesn’t. So you have to try things out. It’s the only way to take your idea to the next level.
Then – people will literally “see” how amazing your idea is.
So stop planning… and create.
“Don’t just think, do.”
– Horace
The leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus
