Set Boundaries | Shape Up

Responding to raw ideas

Our default response to any idea that comes up should be: “Interesting. Maybe some day.” In other words, a very soft “no” that leaves all our options open. We don’t put it in a backlog. We give it space so we can learn whether it’s really important and what it might entail.

It’s too early to say “yes” or “no” on first contact. Even if we’re excited about it, we shouldn’t make a commitment that we don’t yet understand. We need to do work on the idea before it’s shaped enough to bet resources on. If we always say “yes” to incoming requests we’ll end up with a giant pile of work that only grows.

It’s important to keep a cool manner and a bit of a poker face. We don’t want to shut down an idea that we don’t understand. New information might come in tomorrow that makes us see it differently. On the other hand, showing too much enthusiasm right away can set expectations that this thing is going to happen. We may not be able to commit to it once we’ve put it into context with everything else we want to do.