“There are only two kinds of scholars; those who love ideas and those who hate them,” noted the French philosopher Émile Chartier. If you had just come up with a superb idea that will make the world a better place if you activated it, wouldn’t it be great if you separated in advance the idea friends from its foes? Guess what: At THINKERGY, we have developed an Action-Tool that allows you to do just this.
Our Idea Supporter Analysis helps you to better understand people dynamics at the beginning of an idea activation project. In order to contemplate who is likely to support (or oppose) a meaningful idea, we split people into four groups, each of which again contains three roles with distinct behaviors. So let’s think and talk people today.
The Core Activation Team
In every idea activation project, one person needs to actively assume the responsibility for turning a great meaningful idea into a tangible innovation. We call this person who spearheads the idea activation effort the Innovator. In an Idea Supporter Analysis, it’s the innovator who ought to add names to each of the different categories, starting with the fellow members of the Core Activation Team.
Innovation is a team sport. Every innovator needs the complementary skills and expertise of direct supporters to turn a great idea into a tangible innovation. Separate these immediate supporters into Managers (e.g., the project manager, project team managers) and Team Members (such as product and graphic designers, salespeople and marketers, engineers, and IT experts).
The Resources Team
Apart from the human resources that you’ve already covered in the Core Activation Team, consider all other people who provide you with critical resources in your Resources Team. Start by listing all people who provide you with monetary resources as Financiers & Sponsors. This can be a senior manager who chips in the budget and acts as official project sponsor; an official from a government organization that financially supports inventions in your area; an angel investor, venture capitalists, or banker who externally funds the project; or a member of the 3 Fs (family, friends and fools).
Then, reflect on internal or external Suppliers that provide you with critical materials or services that you need to bring your idea to life. Lastly, don’t neglect to think of an important resource that you often even get for free: advice. Who are Advisors who may have successfully steered a similar innovation project before, or whose wisdom and experience can give you shortcuts in the activation project?
The Wider Support Team
Your Wider Support Team comprises advocates, well-minded peers and cheerleaders. An Advocate is anybody who likes your idea and talks positively about it — or even better, actively promotes it. This can be a senior manager who fancies your idea, a PR agent or journalist who spreads the word of your idea in the media, or a celebrity who publicly endorses your idea. Similarly important for you is to get some Well-minded Peers on board. These are respected experts in your industry or area of expertise who appreciate the value of your idea as a positive change to further the industry or domain you operate in.
Finally, don’t forget to think of a very important group of supporters that is often overlooked: Cheerleaders are all those people who cheer you up when the going gets tough. Every idea activation project has its deep valleys to walk through before you can reach the mountain peak and celebrate the successful launch of a novel innovation. Cheerleaders will help you to make it through these dark days by telling or showing you that you’re great. They may or may not know about the challenges you face in your project, but what’s really important is that they love you as you are. Typical examples of cheerleaders are your partner, your kids, your best friend, your sports buddies, and even your dog (or other pet).
The Detractor Cabal
Normally, every new idea encounters violent opposition by the establishment, especially if it is a really good one. After you have thought through all the different categories of idea supporters, take time to also capture all people that stand between you and a successful idea activation in the Detractor Cabal.
Here you first encounter Doubters & Doomsayers with their endless critical adages along the lines of “It won’t work”, “No one will buy it”, and “Don’t aim too high.” Peter Ustinov commented on these people: “If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can’t be done.” Other people for an innovator to better avoid are Distractors (“Why do you work so hard, take it easy!”, “Wanna join for a coffee?”), who soak up your time and initiative. Last but not least, beware of Saboteurs ahead of time. Saboteurs are all those people who actively take counteractions to undermine or shoot down your idea. Among others, they are often competitors, regulators, lobbyists and, well, envious colleagues and managers. As Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of War: “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
© Dr. Detlef Reis 2009. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the title “Identify and acknowledge idea friends and foes before you brainstorm” on 30 July 2009.