Give Your Ideas “Handles”

April 27, 2006 · Comments

(image by nicholas_mt)
I have this great trick. If I have an idea that’s important, I give it “handles.” I want people to come, pick up the idea, and walk away with it.

Handles

Here’s the thing: you have to give up the “credit” for the idea. You want people to totally forget that someone else thought of it. You want them to pick up the idea, load it into their brains, and then go around talking about it like it’s their idea.

But why? You’re saying, it’s my idea. I deserve credit. The types of ideas that are best suited for handles are the types of ideas that will make your life go SO MUCH easier. For instance, working remotely instead of coming to work. That’s a great idea to stick in the boss’s mind, and the Director of HR, and the VP, etc. Hmm.

What gives an idea handles?

  • Lose the “I” and “Me” and “My”- First off, this idea has to go mainstream. You’ve gotta start talking about it like it’s been there all along. The story goes that when asked how difficult it was to sculpt David, Michaelangelo said, “Oh, it was very easy. I started with a big block of marble, and then I simply removed everything that wasn’t David.”
  • Talk Like It’s Already Real- An idea with handles is already in the room. You don’t use future tense. You say, “Working remotely works great because I’m finding it easier to get real stuff done without all the interruptions. Plus, I’m saving that two hours of commute time and putting towards my work. That is a big plus.
  • NAME the idea- Things work so much better with names. Notice that in this example (fictional?), I keep saying “work remotely.” I remove the more common phrase “work from home.” I don’t like the “from home” part of it for a few reasons. One, I don’t work from home. Home has a 3 month old son and a nearly-four-year-old daughter. Would WORK happen there? Second, “home” gives people a sense that you’re not doing anything. Mind you, I do less at my desk than I ever get done when people can’t find me as easily.
  • Talk up the idea- This one’s tricky. You can’t be always blabbing away about it, because people will catch that you’re trying to force this idea luggage on them. But it’s reasonable to bring up the idea — again, as if you’re merely talking about something you read somewhere, or better still, the other person’s idea.
  • Hand it off gently- This one’s trickier still. You can attempt the tactic of talking as if another person brought it up first. “The other day, when you were telling me about working remotely, I knew there was this article I’d read somewhere. Well, now I found it.” It’s maybe a bit sketchy to do this. I don’t know. Depends on how important the idea is to you. Use this one sparingly.

    Above all else, start to recognize that your value is almost never in a single idea, but in the notion that you’re clever enough to generate plenty of ideas. Give some away, and let people better understand just how much you have on board. Think in terms of abundance. The more ideas you share out there, the more opportunity you have of crafting the environment around you to meet your tastes.

    Now, since you brought this handles idea up, what were you telling me the other day about using it?

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    • I'm not so sure the key is to hand your baby away immediately by disowning it so much as it is to foster ongoing discussions about it. "When WE were talking about Idea X" is a much more favorably ambiguous term than "When you were telling me about my own concept, idea X, which I now bequeath to you."

      Instead of handing the idea off completely, remember that the concept of "handles" implies at least two, so ask someone to help you carry the idea forth. That way you don't become divorced from your own energies, but you also admit it's part of everyone's workspace.
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