I know two people who can’t share ideas with each other. They don’t trust one another, so every comment is met with skepticism, which breeds indignation and ultimately… anger.

I know others who have been trained, like one of Pavlov’s dogs, to not speak up when they disagree with an idea. It’s too risky because they’ve been burned too many times.

There are still others who won’t even share their own ideas… no matter how great. They’ve been told they’re not creative (or simply never told they ARE creative), so they discount any contribution they could bring to the table.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing on earth as “a free exchange of ideas.” Every transaction involving an idea is weighted with some amount of risk. Risk of pain, embarrassment or validation of a perceived reality.

There’s risk attached to sharing ideas. I think we all realize that. What do we do to address it though?

We open up people for criticism all the time and paint it as an opportunity to “voice your opinion” or “be heard.” We may even try to reassure by saying, “There’s no such thing as a bad idea.” Sure there is. We need to quit lying about it.

Quit lying to our employees.
Quit lying to our audiences.
Quit lying to ourselves.

What do we do to communicate how much we value ideas? Do we reward risk-taking or simply reward results? Do we reward ideas we agree with, or ones that challenge us?

I don’t have the answers. But I am searching for ideas here.