I have ditched ideas that I initially thought were winners. They were not. I threw them away and then won.
I use 5 simple techniques to help develop the ‘winning ideas’.
I guess it comes down to one very simple idea. I always test ideas out on key decision makers and influencers before I go live with them.
- Don’t fall in love with an idea before it is tested
Don’t fall in love with an idea or an opportunity that has not been tested. Too many people become convinced that this idea is going to work. They just don’t test it before using it in the real world, and this leads to problems.
People like to use an idea because it appeals to them. This does not make sense to me.
If political or legislative action is not going your way, it is unlikely that your worldview holds much sway with key political decision makers and influencers.
Indeed, if your views are the polar opposite of the prevailing majority of decision makers, you may want to keep your ideas to yourself.
I am a supporter of solving the fisheries problem of too few fish being caught by too many fishermen by property rights. I think assigning property rights to the seas makes sense. It has worked well. But, it is unpopular across the political spectrum in the EU. And, in this case, I found it sensible to drop it, for fear of weakening support for my other issues.
- Don’t test your ideas against your opponents
Too often, you will test your ideas on your opponents. You’ll look to your opponents, or who you think are, and test your ideas on them.
This usually leads to confirmation bias. It often does not work out very well. People on opposite sides are unlikely to agree to a solution or the problem. Most messaging sessions are based on what amounts to ‘our response to our opponents’ case.
- Just because an ‘expert’ says so, does not mean it is so
Worse don’t gobble down any idea because it appeals to the ‘experts’.
Experts work in think tanks or universities. They don’t usually do politics or decision making. And, even if Brussels is a technocracy, where experts’ views are respected, they don’t decide.
On discarding of fish, most NGOs were not that interested in it. Instead, they wanted to campaign on the idea of ‘MSY’ – Maximum Sustainable Yield. This is popular in academic fisheries community. I have sat in rooms for several hours whilst smart people with Ph.Ds. in fisheries biology spoke about MSY.
Fortunately, the idea of throwing good fish back into the sea made the issue of overfishing clear and simple for the public. It caught their imagination and then the attention of politicians.
- Don’t fool yourself
Cognitive bias is a dangerous thing when it comes to lobbying. There is no point wailing at the walls or displaying mock indignation. If things were as you saw them, you’d not be suffering the ‘injustice’.
Instead, pinch yourself, and see where you really are, politically speaking, and work out how to deal with the issue you are. It saves you wasting time and chasing demons.
A long time ago I entered, fresh-faced, a long-standing fisheries campaign. Our lack of progress was full of due to mysterious factors. And, whilst I have read all of Robert Ludlum’s novel, the real reasons for slow progress were far more mundane. When they were fixed, the campaign achieved a lot more.
- Test your ideas with your intended audience
I try something else. I speak a representative sample of key decision makers and influencers. I want to understand how they see the issue and how they respond to pre-launch ideas. I always discover something really useful.
Sometimes, you find out you are pushing at an open door. They already agree with you. Other times, you find out that the campaign is just a proxy fight for something far bigger.