Acronym

I was just at a meeting where someone said there was no such thing as a dumb idea.

Come on! Of course there is. And while I'm at it, there really are dumb questions, too.

The only thing worse than asking a dumb question is not asking it. Ignorance is a terrible place to live. One thing to consider about dumb questions: you are a terrible judge of whether or not your own question is dumb, so ask away. No one with an opinion worth caring about will hold an occasional dumb question against you.

Ideas seem to me to be a different animal. The reference at the meeting pointed out the story of 3M and Post-It Notes. You probably know the story, and I do think it's a good story to tell. But it doesn't mean there are no dumb ideas. For every Post-It success story, there are 999 ideas that deserve to remain unknown and lost. What it does mean is that an idea needs to be expressed and shared, just like a question. And, again, you may be a terrible judge of whether your own idea is dumb or not. In addition, no one with an opinion worth caring about will hold dumb ideas against you either.

But here's the difference. A dumb question is answered and you move on. Dumb ideas are trickier. For every Post-It Note story, there's a New Coke counterpart.

Leaders of organizations have two duties when it comes to dumb ideas. First be able to spot them. I can't believe I'm bringing this up, but I think this is a twist of an old debate from this blog on the need to be right. You have to be right here, actively search for and enact the good ideas, shelve the bad ones.

Second, you have to create a culture where dumb ideas are plentiful and their rejection is no big deal — you just move on to the next thing.