Why it's wrong to be right

When it comes to creative thinking, it's often wrong to be right.

It's wrong to be the one who knows everything. The one with the greatest experience, or the fastest mind. The one wearing the tee-shirt with the words saying "Been There, Done That".

Because when you think you know what works (and what doesn't) it can be difficult not to judge new ideas as they come along - and find them wanting.

New ideas need space to breathe. Room to grow. Time to mature. New ideas arrive undeveloped and raw. Sometimes (and these are the really great ideas) they initially sound silly or even stupid.

They don't come with a budget breakdown, a list of features and benefits, or a PowerPoint presentation to help convince the Board.

So we have to suspend judgement when generating ideas. And I mean completely!

No thinking about whether the idea (at this point) is affordable. No judging about whether it fits with the current campaign. No deciding whether it can or can't be done. At this point, it's just an idea. Get it up on the flipchart, and move on to the next idea.

The difficulty is, when we know it all, we find it hard to suspend our judgement. We've been recruited, or promoted, because we have a lot of experience. We think quickly. We know what works, and what doesn't. Or at least, we think we do.

To come up with innovative ideas, and new solutions, we need to stop being right. We have to say "OK, I'm prepared to open my mind to new ways of doing this. I'll pretend (at least for a while) that I don't have the experience, the knowledge, the understanding of what works and what doesn't".

In other words, when it comes to coming up with new ideas, you have to ban the boss-ness.

Or alternatively, ban the boss.