5 Ways To Get Beyond 'Been There, Done That!'
I received a question from one of my readers who asked me, “What do I do if I have someone on my team express an idea and I think, ‘been there, done that?’ I don’t want to suppress creativity, but I also don’t want to waste time doing something I know will be a waste of time and money and ultimately not prove beneficial.”
This scenario comes up over and over again.
In business and working with teams, it often comes up with newer employees who haven’t been around to know we have been there, done that, or they would not have suggested it.
I have been on the idea-sharing side in a company. I have shared ideas, and when the response to my ideas was, “Been there, done that!” And it usually has that big exclamation point behind it, just to drive the point home when they say it. Needless to say, it was very deflating. Yet, in my mind, I could see the possibility. I could see the solution. I could see it working. In the end, it was never going to happen in this situation because there was too much resistance. (You can read some similar scenarios in my blog: Dealing with Second-Rate Ideas, which looks at both sides of an idea.)
Viewing From the Executive Perspective
But I want to look at this scenario from the executive side, the CEO side. It is the side when an idea comes from a team member, and we think: Been there, done that. Many times, I think we are too easy to dismiss these types of ideas. I know we think: Okay, do we really need to do this? Do I really need to say yes, so that we can show this person who shared his or her ‘grandiose idea’ that we have already done it so they can come up with the same conclusion we have already come up with, which is that it doesn’t work?
At times, I have said “yes” to ideas that I felt would never work based on past experiences. I have also expressed “no” in those types of situations. It is the dilemma with every “been there, done that” scenario. For me, I know that I hate it inside whenever someone shares an idea that we have already done, and it didn’t work. Why? Because now, I have to take time to work with that individual to either get them on my side or somehow get rid of my mental roadblocks to try the idea they are sharing. I don’t want to squelch the idea. After all, I want them to be free to express their views and opinion. But there has to be a meeting of the minds in this scenario someplace.
“Does the ‘been there, done that’ ever happen to me in my art,” you may be asking? Yes, it does. But as a sole proprietor, I am both the generator of the idea and either the executor or the executioner of the idea. I have to get beyond this in my own business if I want to keep things fresh in my endeavors.
3 Truisms
Let’s start with some things we know. I call these a few truisms. It is true that:
Just because it was done in the past and it didn’t work doesn’t mean it won’t work now.
Things are different. There are new players on the team, other circumstances, and various market conditions. All of which means an old idea can work again. The challenge is that it takes time to identify why things are different.
The old can be new again. Have you ever noticed fashion styles? Clothing styles come and go and come back again. Old styles become new again. We have all heard many times when it comes to styles, “such and such are coming back.” But to a young person, this “new style” is modern and hip. Still, you might think to yourself. We have been there, done that, with this style, why bring it back?. Yet, when you think about it, isn’t the old-new style a bit different? Designers change it a bit. They take the basic concept and build on it, add a few things that make it fresh.
Why can the old be new again? Because you have different times, different circumstances, and different market conditions. And just because it was done in the past doesn’t mean it won’t work today. We see this happen all the time.
Getting Beyond the ‘Been There, Done That’
So how can we, the executive or CEO, do the same thing in our respective companies? How can we take a “been there done that” idea that comes to us and get beyond the immediate thought of moving along and shutting down the idea? How can we get beyond that block and get into thinking creatively and differently? After all, isn’t that what this creative guy on your team wants to do?
5 Solutions
What are some possible solutions to the immediate thought of, “Been there, done that?” My suggestions all begin with the letter E for easy recall. We could:
Elaborate. Take the time to show the creative person your position and why you don’t want to go down a road that did not end well. Then you can allow them to show you their perspective. See where you could meet in the middle. Doing this is time-consuming but may be necessary if you don’t want to squelch innovation or creative thought in your organization. If you honor creativity, then you would like to do this step. After all, didn’t you hire this person to bring new, fresh blood into your organization? Ultimately, it means they may have fresh ideas built on past experiences. Drew Fortin said that effective teams would value team member ideas in his article with The Predictive Index and gives 8 tips on the best ways to interact with your team members.
Expound. Share the history. Maybe the new person doesn’t see the narrative, but you can take a few moments to show them so you won’t repeat the exact mistakes. Sharing history will be helpful if you consider the similarities with the fashion industry. Old styles can become new. Clothing doesn’t have to look exactly like it came out of the ‘70s or ‘80s. It can be that the idea is fresh and new as if made for today.
Expand. In a brainstorming session, you could park that idea on the side, write it down and expand on it later in the brainstorming session. Pausing on an idea to go back to it later communicates you don’t want to lose the thought and choke the person’s creativity, but you also don’t want to get off track at that very moment and chase a rabbit trail. Just make sure you actually do go back to address it.
Explain. Have the individuals flesh out their idea and explain how their approaches will be different than before. It puts the burden on them, but you get a more thought-out proposal. By doing this, you are encouraging critical thinking within your team members. Want a few ideas on how to do this? Read Eva Wislow’s article 9 Ways to Encourage Employees Critical Thinking in the Workplace.
Encapsulate. Always go back to your core mission. New ideas coming from team members have to support the primary mission, or they become a distraction.
You don’t have to repeat the past, but you can learn from the past, and even if you do end up implementing something similar to the past, you can be creative enough to do it differently. Then you can say, been there, done that, and then—went beyond that.
Until then, keep the creative edge.
Another good read is Darren Alff’s article from Bicycle Touring Pro on what the four words ‘been there, done that’ really mean and why you should never say it. or Howie Jones’ blog on How Do You Prioritize Time with Each Employee?
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