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Remember that great idea you had a few years ago. On-premises daycare. How could you forget? You brought it up to your employer, and he
made you feel like an idiot, right?
"Did you ever consider the insurance implications?"
he moaned, rolling his eyes.
Typical left-brain reaction. Shoot
and ask questions later.
Well, today when you tell him you're taking a job with his
principal competitor, don't forget to remind him of your on-premises daycare idea. Don't
forget to tell him that his competitor hired you and a lot of other better employees,
because back when he refused to take on-premises daycare seriously, your new employer
began doing her homework on the subject, and now she's solved all the stumbling blocks...
Remind him that every idea falls somewhere
between absolutely ludicrous and unbelievably brilliant. The idea is to move
the less-than-brilliant parts of any concept toward brilliant. He needs to
look at all ideas, find what works and amplify it. Take what doesn't work
and improve it. Advise him that if he ever wants to run with the big dogs,
if he wants to innovate in the major leagues, he's going to have to learn to
stop rejecting ideas out of hand.
Remind him for all of us, will you, that your
new boss offers flexible hours, job sharing, and
work-at-home options, too. She's open to all kinds of imaginative, right-brain responses to the needs of modern,
two-income and single-parent households. And from now on, never suffer the indignity of
having your ideas shot down. Not just for yourself, but for all of
us. You were right then and you're right now.
Bone-headed dinosaurs like your ex-boss will eventually
become extinct. But they will be replaced with a whole new breed of nincompoops unless you
persevere in the fight for your ideas.
See also:
The Dark Side of Leadership: Bosses Behaving Badly |
