How I’m proved wrong by being right
Often people tell me their ideas looking for criticism or confirmation. They will pitch me an idea and I will give feedback. I enjoy the process and always try to really put energy into wrapping my head around an idea.
Lately I have been experiencing an interesting side effect of giving feedback during pitches; the opposite of what I’m predicting happens because of what I am predicting.
What happens is that someone will casually pitch me a rather simple and raw idea. I think about if for a minute or so and, sensing a lack of real determination in the person pitching it, realize that the idea will never take off. I explain my thoughts and pessimistic view of the idea to the person doing the pitch. He or she feels slightly disappointed and maybe even insulted a bit.
A week passes by and this person comes back to me with more determination. He or she pitches their idea one more time and again I will respond negatively. Of course I will sense the entrepreneurs more determined attitude towards the idea but I will still see some major flaws. But by highlighting them I will maybe just inspire the entrepreneur to find solutions and become even more determined.
So, in both instances I am right that the idea won’t work. But by explaining this I change the situation and the chances of the idea working out.
I could of course simply say ‘Yeah, that will work’ to any idea I’m being pitched. But besides being impractical it would also probably have an adverse reaction and doom the project.
I don’t mind being wrong and I wish everybody all the wealth and successful projects in the world so there is no problem there. But what should I do when someone I like comes to me with an idea I really don’t think will work out?
Basically it is a small example of the Hawthorn Effect. The basic idea here is that people change their behavior when they know they are being observed.
What I’m wondering about is what I should do with this information. By influencing people I end up contradicting myself and I like being right about stuff. So, what is your advice?
I guess it’s all a matter of perspective: do you want to be right, or do you want to help people?
There’s a famous zen-quote that applies here: there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. And in this case, it seems to me it’s not about being right or wrong, but about guidance.
Boris, you shouldn’t have told us this. Now we’re going to worry about you double-bluffing us when we pitch an idea…
Seriously, I think it’s important to just give honest guidance – but the best entrepreneurs don’t ask “will it work” – they ask “what’s the flaw” – but they have a common trait with the worst entrepreneurs – they still believe in their ideas when people tell them they won’t work.
The trick is knowing when to quit, or knowing when to keep going.
PS: Great photo, by the way.
Happy birthday, Boris. And just keep up guiding people with ideas in an honest way.
I think you are allready contradicting your story. If you say to some-one This idea won’t work, next time the come to you with a slightly different! idea, and the last time maybe with a totally altered idea. So you where right when you said the first time that that idea wouldn’t work, and the third time that it might work, simply because you have been pitched 3 different ideas. Two of them wouldnt work, you were right, and the third one could work, you were right again, 3 out of 3 sound like a good score :)
But you are still trying to predict the Future and being one of the powers to influence that future, so if you always want to be right, just dont listen to their ideas..
Well I think you’re right on the subject. First let me say giving advice is not about being right, in these cases it’s about preventing a person with an idea to go in the wrong direction. You’re actually guiding them.
It reminds me of a discussion I’ve had some time ago about predicting the future. At the end of the discussion (it was rather a long one) this was our conclusion:
We’ll never know what’s going to happen, at the moment we know what’s going to happen we change the current (and so does the future changes).
I think what you’re actually doing is giving the person with the idea a peak into the future. With your experience it could be quite accurate. So the person may be disappointed or maybe dislikes you, but he will change his behaviour because he has a stronger sense of what’s going to happen.
As a young entrepreneur I can say, sometimes it did feel disappointing to get negative feedback but after a few times, you get to see the value and it’s thousand times more worth than positive feedback.
What a wonderful post. I’ve had many similar experiences. Even when I was in venture capital, I was proven wrong by several companies that went on to great success, fairly big exits after I rejected their pitch.
It’s like the behavior of quantum mechanics. When you’re watching an atom, it’ll change its behavior.
Very nice – I should like to meet you if I’m ever in Europe.
This idea of yours is itself a good one!
My idea is this:
I/m in the process of building a blog on Jesus Christ, where people who for whatever reason, cannot attend church services, can check out my blog posts and be built up in their spiritual lives. I’m an Amazon Associate but so far am not convinced og Gools Adsens’s relevance to me. So I have disabled it. I do want to make my blog a classy one and rewarding at the same time.
What say you?
Regards.