Got a good idea? Give it away.
That sounds like a weird thing to say. Especially if your livelihood depends on the quality of the ideas you come up with. Stashing them away to be strategically deployed at “ah-ha” moments when you can be the hero seems a much more profitable course, yes?
No.
The world needs helpful people more than it needs heroes. Doing your part to create an environment in which people trust and rely on each other will do more for your agency, your clients, and your career than being a glory hog ever will.
This holds true even if you’re the most insanely creative marketing person ever to walk the face of the earth. Which, by definition, only one of us will be. And it’s not me.
So share freely. Take your basket of great ideas and start tossing them out to anyone who looks like they could use one. Better yet, slip one into their hand when nobody’s looking.
The other side of the coin? Borrow wisely. There are only so many truly original ideas in the world. If someone has already placed the cornerstone, build on it. And give credit where credit is due.
Take this blog post. It’s based not on my idea but on one I read a few years ago in a book by Paul Arden called It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be. Here’s what he had to say about keeping good ideas to yourself:
“The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. Somehow the more you give away the more comes back to you.”
So enjoy. And pass it on.
>>>>>> the most insanely creative marketing person ever to walk the face of the earth
That’s Don Drapper, right?