When Good Ideas Die

We’ve all had those moments where you develop and storyboard an idea only to get to the end of your outline and realize that everything falls flat to the floor. And when it does, it usually lands with such a square and resounding thud, that the realization resonates that we couldn’t have been any further off target than where we were trying to head with a project. The good news is that now that you realize something isn’t going to work, you can begin to really sculpt out the path that you were aiming for. Odds are everything doesn’t need to be scrapped.

Put Yourself on the Back First

It’s a safe bet to consider the notion that because you had enough of a discerning and critical eye you were above average in being able to determine Houston had a problem. Whenever you are working on a project and you can’t see even the smallest of flaws in it, then it is time to hit the brakes and really evaluate your standing.
Even the most polished and professional presentations have their flaws. Perfection is a ridiculous goal, but striving to make things the best you can goes without saying. Just be sure not to take this step so far that you start to lose flexibility and your ability to compromise.

Don’t Be Married To It

It’s an eager, and well-meant, intention to be completely dedicated to the path that you’ve carved out in front of you. Unfortunately, when it comes to establishing a more collaborative environment you can’t really stay so completely married to ideas. They have to come and go and, like random birds that find their way into your house, sing their song, and then go on about their way.

The point is, some ideas are wayward and guide you further away from what your original plan or focus was. Whether it is with a videoconference that you are participating in or a webinar that you are preparing to package for retail, it is essential to have people in your environment that you can bounce ideas off of.

Let them Fall to the Floor

When it comes to the active and constructive criticism that you’ve opened yourself up to, it is natural to want to get defensive about your ideas. After all, you have spent all that time dedicating your thoughts and energy into developing something that you thought was hitting the target square on. Much better to go through the little bit of suffering a revision provides than having to face releasing something that is so sub –par your image suffers.

Openly Collaborate

When you find that you’ve gotten off path, opening yourself up to collaboration is a great way to refresh ideas and help put some distance between you and your project so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes. With the right guidance you can usually catch on to recurring trends that are weak spots in your skill set. That knowledge can only help strengthen your performance.

Build Your Own Checklist

Now that you are well aware you need to make some changes, and you’ve had some informative feedback it’s time to head back to that place that you go to make the magic happen. Give yourself the chance to redevelop and conceptualize new modes of delivering your key message. Continually ask yourself critical questions such as: Is this relevant? Am I providing too much information? Am I assuming too much of my audience?

There could also simply be the fact that your research was in the wrong pace. Thinking that you have your nose hot on a trail while gathering report after report, is an all-consuming process. Finding out that the thing you’ve been hunting isn’t what you were after is always frustrating.

A Good Habit

Bringing these sort of critical questions into every project that you approach can help save you time down the road on revision. Revision will still be necessary. It’s just one of those things that you can’t avoid. With a little bit of preemptive editing and truly honing in on your intention and purpose it gets easier and easier each time.
Sometimes what remains from a revision isn’t that much but the results are this nice polished down gemstone that gives you something to truly build a productive web meeting or webinar off of.

Back to Center

It’s easy to lose balance once you realize your project has fallen flat. Pick yourself up, regain your composure, and get back to the drawing board. It is a process that is going to happen. When it does, don’t throw in the towel. More often times than not, over thinking leads to some of the biggest mishaps. Keep things simple and in direct line with the goal.