{"id":10115,"date":"2014-11-21T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=10115"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:43:44","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:43:44","slug":"secret-better-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/secret-better-ideas","title":{"rendered":"The secret to better ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many times have you held your tongue in the presence of a bad idea? We\u2019ve all been there: Your team\u2019s in a strategy meeting, there\u2019s one sole suggestion on the table, and everyone nods in agreement, even if the idea is\u00a0obviously sub-par\u2014or flat-out wrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No one wants to question the originator of the plan (especially if it\u2019s your boss); no one wants to be the dissenter or the one who extends the meeting past lunch.<\/p>\n

It happens all the time. It\u2019s a common occurrence that was proven decades ago by an\u00a0experiment conducted by Soloman Asch<\/a>. Asch placed a subject in a room with a group of people who were all aware of the experiment. Then, the group was given a series of visual tests that had quite obvious answers.<\/p>\n

At first, the group gave mostly correct answers, and, as expected, the subject answered correctly, too. But eventually, the rest of the group was instructed to start giving a unanimous, incorrect answer. The point was to see if the subject would rely on his eyes and continue responding with correct answers or if he would be swayed by his peers.<\/p>\n

Despite all reason, the subject agreed with the group\u2019s incorrect response a whopping 37% of the time. Even though the right answer was obvious, he let the rest of the group sway his response. Because if the rest of the group agreed on a different response, they must be right\u2014right?<\/p>\n

This conformity, also known as groupthink,\u00a0squashes creativity<\/a>\u00a0and discourages new, fresh, and innovative ideas\u2014especially in the workplace.<\/p>\n

In a recent\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0article<\/a>, Chunka Mui explains: \u201cIn organizational settings, the tendency to conform, which Ash termed \u2018conformity,\u2019 is heightened because the subject is complicated, the answers unclear, there are social and economic bonds that tie a group together, and there is a very human tendency to yield to authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in the experiment, if even just one other person in the room went against the group, the subject only went with the majority 5% of the time.<\/p>\n

That means that all it takes is one voice speaking up against the group, and others generally feel much more comfortable making other suggestions. If someone simply breaks the ice and throws out a different idea, it\u2019s likely that others will emerge. And all of a sudden, you don\u2019t have to settle for the only idea on the table.<\/p>\n

So, you want more, better ideas at work? The\u00a0next time you\u2019re in a meeting<\/a>, be the one to speak up. Chances are, there\u2019s at least one other person who\u2019s just waiting for someone else to voice his or her opinion. And that\u2019s when the real creativity will happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How many times have you held your tongue in the presence of a bad idea? We\u2019ve all been there: Your team\u2019s in a strategy meeting, there\u2019s one sole suggestion on the table, and everyone nods in agreement, even if the idea is\u00a0obviously sub-par\u2014or flat-out wrong. No one wants to question the originator of the plan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1356,"featured_media":10118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe secret to better ideas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How many times have you held your tongue in the presence of a bad idea? 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