• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

How to be more open to new ideas #IdeaFriendly

By Becky McCray

When you’re introduced to someone, you wouldn’t start the conversation with, “Hi, I think your hair style is a big mistake.”

So why do we greet new ideas with “That will never work”?

Greet a new idea like you would greet a new person: with your respect, not your opinion. #IdeaFriendly

How to greet an idea respectfully

Picture being introduced to someone you’ve never met. You look them in the eye, and you shake their hand. You want to make a good first impression while you’re also forming your first impression of the other person. Now is not the time to hit them with all the negative thoughts that pop into your head.

You hold your opinions to yourself for now and make time to get to know the person better. You show interest in them, ask questions to learn more about them and listen to their answers.

You don’t necessarily agree with everything they say, but you show respect for them by listening first. 

You can do the same when you greet new ideas.

Practice greeting each new idea with a friendly hello and pause

Listen to the new idea without responding. You don’t have to agree with the idea, or think it’s a good idea. Hold your objections for later.

First show interest in the idea. Ask questions that help you learn more about it, not to help you poke holes in it. Avoid throwing out all the potential problems and reasons not to try it that pop into your head. 

People learn by doing, trying and sometimes by failing. If you stop them from trying, you’re stopping them from learning. But there’s one question you can ask that will help them learn the most while failing the least.

The magic question to ask of all new ideas:

How could you test that idea in a tiny way?

Every idea is good enough to test. It might lead to another idea or a new approach. It might inspire someone else to try another new idea.

The smaller the test, the smaller the possible failure.

That’s the Idea Friendly way.

Bottom line

Greet a new idea like you would greet a new person: with your respect, not your opinion.

Get more Idea Friendly Implementation tips in the video Idea Friendly Next Steps from SaveYour.Town.

Thanks to Jurek Leon for sharing this concept in his newsletter several years ago, inspired by Paul Hellman, author of You’ve Got 8 Seconds.

Subscribe to Small Biz Survival

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • 3 Major factors in rural remote work: incentives, flexible workspaces, and a sense of community - June 6, 2022
  • How to recruit new residents, remote workers, or remote entrepreneurs - June 2, 2022
  • How cooperatives improve small town economies - May 8, 2022
  • Metaverse business idea: virtual world tour guide - April 15, 2022
  • Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns - March 28, 2022
  • Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals - March 21, 2022
  • New business sign design? Don’t use cursive script - February 14, 2022
  • Way more people prefer rural than urban, new Pew Research study finds - February 1, 2022
  • Top 5 Rural and small town trends 2022 - January 3, 2022
  • How to start a real small small business - December 17, 2021

July 3, 2021 Filed Under: ideas, rural Tagged With: idea friendly, IdeaFriendly, innovation

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2022 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in