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| Thought Leaders: Management |
Never Say No
Joel Saltzman
11/01/2006
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In the 1930s and
’40s, when Chuck Jones and his colleagues at
Warner Bros. were creating Looney Tunes cartoons (featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy
Duck and Porky Pig), they met for regular "big yes" sessions. The purpose was to
create new story ideas, and the rules were simple: Every story idea or gag
that was pitched could only be greeted with a yes. As Jones explained in his
biography, "For two hours . . . you could only contribute to the idea, and that
meant that all negatives were out." Attendees were free to offer changes or
modifications, but they had to focus on the positive.For executives involved in managing businesses that perform
slightly more serious work than producing cartoons, the vast majority of ideas
and proposals they hear probably actually deserve a no. Any decision maker with
visible assets quickly becomes accustomed to saying no to people who call to
pitch new investment "opportunities" and fractional ownerships. The more
generous philanthropists are often inundated with requests from charities that
have nothing to do with their well-defined giving strategy. And then, of course,
parents are conditioned to say no to their children’s requests for the trendiest
games, clothes and vehicles. When he first heard the idea for America Online, he said,
"That’s a dog; take it out back and shoot it." |
Yet, some of these ideas—probably more of them than most people
assume—might deserve a closer examination. Somewhere in the black hole of
proposals that sound ludicrous or, at the very least, impractical, there may
hide some germs of a good idea. If these proposals are weighed and examined in
an exercise in which recipients have to say, "Maybe it would work if . . . ,"
they might yield something new and useful, maybe even transformational.I often remember the apocryphal tale of the investment banker
who, when he first heard the idea for America Online, said, "That’s a dog; you
ought to take it out back and shoot it." I also consider the story of Jeff
Hawkins, who encountered one naysayer after another while attempting to develop
the handheld computer. He proposed that consumers—after paying hundreds of
dollars for his new device—would then have to learn a whole new way of writing
to input data into the gadget. At the time, the software industry was trying to
perfect standard handwriting recognition, so many people said no to Hawkins’
unconventional notion. Ask people to learn a whole new way to write? That’s
absurd! But Hawkins pressed on, and soon even the ardent naysayers were using
Graffiti to write on their Palm Pilots. This exercise in refusing to say no is one that investors,
executives, directors and philanthropists might try or delegate for perhaps just
one hour every month, or a few times each year, just to see what comes of it.
Decision makers should designate a structured period in which to hear pitches
and review proposals. With the input of their most creative colleagues, advisors
or family members, attendees should be required to come up with suggestions for
how even an outrageous idea might be turned into something that would be useful.
Instead of saying no, those in a position to bring the idea to fruition should
say, "Show me how it would work." The truly daring might even try it with
their children. Ask, "What would you do with that?" simply to inspire them to
think. Even with these open-minded meetings, decision makers are still
likely to reject almost every one of these pitches. But there might be one idea
that could prove fruitful, perhaps turned 180 degrees. For that rare notion,
spend a little more time listening to the person who pitched it. Ask that
individual: "Who would this benefit in an ideal world? Which of our competitors
could it drive out of business?" People present half-baked ideas all day, every
day. Some people simply do not dream big enough. But insisting that the plan’s
source hone it and examine all sides might just elevate this one suggestion to
something viable. The easiest response to almost any new idea is no. Most of the
time, this response is justified. But to make a company, a family office or a
favorite charity the force behind the next big trend, decision makers need
vision ("This could be a great idea!"), persistence in the face of skepticism
("This could still be a great idea!") and the patience to refine even seemingly
preposterous ideas.
 | Joel Saltzman is author of Shake That Brain!: How to Create Winning Solutions and Have Fun While
You’re at It. |
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