The Great Idea Dilemma

The Scenario: One of your co-workers has come up with a great idea for your workplace. You know immediately this idea is brilliant and your shy co-worker is testing the idea with you. You:

Tell the co-worker what a wonderful idea it is, and encourage the co-worker to take the idea further. If he (or she) is still hesitant, you offer to help devise a strategy and prepare the co-worker to present the idea to upper management.

Offer to team up with the individual to bring the idea to upper management. You agree that your co-worker will get credit for the idea, and you will get credit for helping with the presentation.

Tell your co-worker the idea is unrefined, and you advise against taking it any further. Then you make enough changes in the idea so it is different from the original, and present it to upper management as your own idea.

Offer to refine and present the idea to management for a fee. Then you make superficial changes in the idea so you will receive most of the credit. You hold off making the presentation until you are sure you can negotiate a bonus (not to be shared with your timid co-worker) for discovering the idea.

Praise your co-worker for brilliant intelligence and innovative abilities. You emphasize the fact that you were not smart enough to think of this idea yourself and insist you are unworthy of helping advance the idea forward.

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Copyright © 1998 by Richard Warren Field

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