Get Your Ideas Noticed

In 1997, a Russian scientist at the University of Manchester, Andre Geim, was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize for experiments with magnetism in which he attempted to levitate a frog. In case you’ve never heard of them, Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded annually for apparently absurd or laughable research across a range of disciplines. It’s not really a booby prize, like the Razzies, but there’s an unmistakable element of mockery (some would say cruelty) in them.

Fast forward seventeen years. It’s now Sir Andre Geim, and he’s won an actual Nobel Prize for the discovery of graphene, a revolutionary material which has been widely hailed as a game-changer in a whole range of industries (everything from phones to policing to medicine). And do you want to guess where the seeds of his Nobel Prize winning research were sewn? The levitating frog, of course.

It’s a nice story, and it illustrates something interesting about good ideas: that they often struggle to take off.  In fact, we’d argue that resistance to new ideas or good ideas is an issue that we’ve all come across at one point or another in our working lives. So it leads us to ask, what are the best ways to get our new ideas listened to?

For starters, at some level there’s a kind of paradox. New members of staff bring a fresh set of eyes to all sorts of things in their new offices – from the way business is done to the way the company is run internally. But because they are new they are often the least likely to really draw attention to their ideas for change or improvement. This is natural enough.

However, organizations need forward thinking, creative people.  If you find yourself trying to get colleagues to take your ideas seriously, here are some tips from us.

• Partner with colleagues whose areas of expertise complement yours. If you have a great idea for an internal document system but are not very systems-savvy you may want to partner with someone from IT who would have a better grasp of the logistical requirements.
• Be politically sensitive – think about who your ideas will impact and also make sure you share your ideas carefully at first. Maybe only with people you really trust.
• Do your research. Make sure your ideas can be backed up. Understand what has been tried before including any results.
• Pay attention to your colleagues and managers. Notice what they value and how they approach their work.  If they blog, Tweet, or use LinkedIn, follow them and find out what interests them and how they see things.
• In other words, know your audience. If you’re pitching to the numbers people, for instance, use Excel or something similar. Speak their language.

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