Press Start Leadership Podcast

The Simple Guide to Getting Your Ideas Off the Ground

June 14, 2021 Press Start Leadership Season 1 Episode 26
Press Start Leadership Podcast
The Simple Guide to Getting Your Ideas Off the Ground
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Show Notes Transcript

On this week's episode of Press Start Leadership Podcast, we discuss:

The Simple Guide to Getting Your Ideas Off the Ground
The Importance of Uncomfortable Conversations

Link to my FREE ebook: 5 Heroic Leadership Skills

Music by: Joey the Mad Scientist

Hit subscribe/follow and be sure to check out: https://pressstartleadership.com/

Support the show

Link to my FREE ebook: 5 Heroic Leadership Skills

Music by: Joey the Mad Scientist

Hit subscribe/follow and be sure to check out: https://pressstartleadership.com/

Joey The Mad Scientist:

Hey there press starters and welcome to the press Start leadership podcast, the podcast about game changing leadership teaching you how to get the most out of your product and development team and become the leader you were meant to be leadership coaching and training for the International game industry professional. Now, let me introduce you to your host, the man the myth, the legend, Christopher Mifsud.

Christopher Mifsud:

Welcome back press starters, on this week's episode of press star leadership podcast, we'll be discussing how to get your ideas off the ground, and the importance of uncomfortable conversations. First up the simple guide to getting your ideas off the ground. Start small, prove it build a business case, the simple guide to getting your ideas off the ground. In my career, I've had people come to me with great ideas that they were unable to use, because there were too many twos. too big, too costly, too much of a change for the organization at the moment. Just because something has too many twos. That doesn't mean you should abandon the idea altogether. In fact, I have some advice for all the tools out there. Here is the simple guide to getting your ideas off the ground. One, start small to prove it. Three, build the business case. Think about your idea like making a product. You can spend all day thinking of the nice to haves. But you still need to start with the MVP minimum viable product. What is the smallest functional version of your idea that demonstrates the process the change or how the tool works? in video games, we call that a vertical slice, can you show that the base functionality of a game works. Ultimately, that's more important than all the bells and whistles that get added later. It doesn't matter how many sweet tats the main character has, if they're lateral movement makes you want to throw your controller through the window. You can apply this thought process to almost any idea. Let's say you have a great leadership training idea for everyone across a global company. Now, what is a smaller abstraction of that idea that demonstrates the results you're looking for, but can be leveraged as a business case on larger scale. Just like in a video game, program your characters basic punch before their special combo. So start small. Maybe, instead of starting with everyone across the global company, you pick a single location and you select group within that location. What up be a little selective, choose a group that is more likely to demonstrate the benefits of your new process. In the business. We call this stacking the deck, it may still be out of your control. And if your idea is as strong as you think the group shouldn't matter, but it never hurts to have an extra edge. Then you have to prove your idea works. Find the smallest group for the lowest cost with the lowest risk to prove your grand plan. Why? Think about Street Fighter? Do you think they built all the locations at once? No. They chosen tested one place like ihana sana before moving on to the boat dock, the airplane hangar and that dope room with all the elephants in it. If your idea works Kabaddi results, some testimonials and a scalable budget for ready to present business case for your big idea. While it's never a guarantee, it's hard to argue against logic and a solid business case should sell your idea to most business savvy stakeholders. Your persistence and ingenuity alone should warrant some bonus points, and maybe a leg up on getting your project off the ground. No matter what the outcome, you're one step closer to achieving your goals instead of taking no for an answer. And that's a simple guy for getting ideas off the ground. Let me know your tips for getting ideas off the ground in the comments below. All right, next up the importance of uncomfortable conversations, how to have them and how to grow from them. If you read my blog regularly, or listen to my podcast, you know I'm all about positivity, especially positive feedback. As a leader, I don't encourage criticism because it tends to be mostly negative and unproductive. That said, some of my most pivotal moments have come from uncomfortable conversations. I'm not talking about salary negotiations, or other unpleasant logistical conversations. I'm talking about open and honest discussions about behavior and performance from friends, peers and leaders. These types of uncomfortable conversations are the most important and challenging conversations one can have as a leader. And as a human for that matter. I've participated in a number of uncomfortable conversations in my lifetime, and the productive ones have a few things in common. Their focus is purely on the situation or behavior at hand. Their sole purpose is to improve the situation or behavior. And they are open and honest communication that is maintained throughout. I discussed these lessons and other tips for becoming a better leader in my free ebook, five heroic leadership skills, you can find the link in the liner notes. Today, however, I'd like to talk about the conversations where I was on the receiving end of the discomfort. While the point of those uncomfortable conversations may have been to improve interactions with my friends and peers, or to make me a better person, they didn't mean they were a walk in the park. So we're about small changes. Many were about moments of ignorance. And if you called for serious time and reflection and modified bad habits or routines, it took me years to become less defensive when I received feedback. In fact, one of my earliest uncomfortable conversations was about being defensive. Because my boss was willing to have that uncomfortable conversation with me. It opened me up to receiving and even seeking out feedback that improved my life. When I look back, I realized there were a few reasons I could lower my guard and take that feedback. One, the issue was explained to me privately to the issue was addressed immediately after it happened. Three, it was posed as a question, not an accusation. For we were able to get to the why of the issues together. If you tend to get defensive, try to keep in mind, someone is willing to come to you with an open and honest feedback and earnestly wants you to grow. It's probably very important to them. Most people have a fear of confrontation. And if they're willing to work through their own fear to help you grow, they most likely value you. This is a friend coming to you, it probably means they want to make your relationship more comfortable. Otherwise, they would ghost or avoid you tolerating the behavior only when necessary. If it's appear, they're likely to trying to improve their work environment before taking other steps like talking to a boss, or looking for a transfer. They didn't like or respect you, they skip that step entirely. If it's a leader, they most likely want to see you succeed. So people really want the best for us, and the end result is likely to be positive, then why are the conversation so uncomfortable? Well, there's a few reasons. A, humans aren't the best communicators be, we make assumptions. See, don't always take feedback well, even when it's well intentioned, but should de even well intentioned feedback can be hard to take, when ego and self image get in the way. At the end of the day, it is up to you what you do with honest and constructive feedback, and whether you'll dismiss it or make something of it. If you apply it, it'll make you a better friend, a better co worker, and at the end, a better leader. This is why it's so important to have those uncomfortable conversations for yourself and in turn with the folks who lead and wants to succeed. What do you think about the importance of uncomfortable conversations? Let me know in the comments below. That's this week's episode of press Start leadership podcast. Thanks for tuning in. And as always, thanks for being awesome. Give us a follow alike share. And even a review if you feel like we'd really appreciate it. Cheers. If you haven't downloaded my free e book five heroic leadership skills, click on the link in the description. Tune in next week for your next episode of press star leadership podcast. Thank you