1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: tip is to make friends for your ideas. Most of 4 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: the time, we are better off testing how other people 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: connect to our ideas before we share them broadly. It's 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: usually not the best approach to develop an idea completely 7 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: on our own and then make a grand reveal, So 8 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: people sometimes talk about socializing ideas. That is, informally talking 9 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: with people about an idea before presenting it. Formally, Socializing 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: an idea lets you gauge people's response to it, so 11 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: you can make an informed decision about whether or not 12 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: to pursue it. If nobody seems to connect with an idea, 13 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: you could perhaps drop it, But if an idea is 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: well received, you can refine it based on feedback you 15 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: get when you tell people about it. Socializing an idea 16 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: may also help you garner support for an idea. People 17 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: are sometimes more likely to support an idea that feels familiar. 18 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: You could see how this could play out. Maybe you 19 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: are leading the committee that is scheduling the conference for 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: your professional association. You could socialize your idea for the 21 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: conference theme. Do other people understand what you mean by 22 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: that catchy phrase you are thinking of using. Do other 23 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: people connect with the topic. If you ask around and 24 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: people seem to get the theme, you are more likely 25 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: to build support for it even before you propose it 26 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: to the larger group. If you are a nonprofit leader, 27 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: you could socialize the idea of a particular person becoming 28 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: chair of the board. When you chat with key leaders 29 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: about the possibility, you will hear what they are enthusiastic about. 30 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: You can address concerns. By the time there is a 31 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: vote on it, lots of people will already see her 32 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: as a natural choice. Or if you discover there is 33 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: no widespread support for this person, you could pivot away 34 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: without ever nominating her. Or suppose your team is feeling 35 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: stretched you are wondering whether you could reduce the time 36 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: spent in meetings. You could socializing the idea of going 37 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: from a weekly department meeting to a monthly one. In 38 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: talking with people about this, you might find out that 39 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: they think the weekly meeting creates accountability when they know 40 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: they are meeting the next day, creates momentum to reach milestones. 41 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: People may also mention appreciating that right after the team meeting. 42 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: When everyone is there together, they can ask any colleague 43 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: a quick question and don't need to resort to lengthy 44 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: email correspondence. You may decide that, in fact, you don't 45 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: want to go from meeting weekly to monthly instead, but 46 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: perhaps you socialize a new idea of putting some of 47 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: the meeting content into email and meeting for a shorter 48 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: amount of time. People who love planning may sometimes be 49 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: inclined to spend a lot of time in our heads 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: to work out compelling proposals, and that can be great. 51 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: But by informally socializing an idea making friends for it 52 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: early on, you can get a sense of whether or 53 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: not others will support it. If others support seems unlikely, 54 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: you can just let the idea go. If others do 55 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: seem supportive, you can develop the idea based on their feedback. 56 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: What's more, when some people hear about the ideas that's developing, 57 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: they may feel a sense of ownership. That way, you 58 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: can build buy in before you even offer a formal proposal. 59 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: Making friends for your ideas is really a good idea 60 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: all around. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening. 61 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: Here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for 62 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, 63 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 64 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 65 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 66 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.