You’ve probably seen this one before. Someone has a great idea. They are really excited about it and think it can have a big impact. They bring the idea forward and the response is: “That sounds like a great idea. Let’s get a committee together (or send it to a specific committee) to see if it is viable.” And then the sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach hits. The death of an idea. The committee.
Don’t get me wrong, committees can be a great thing if done right. They can bring together a bunch of different perspectives to round out ideas and figure out how to make ideas work – if that is the focus. Many times though, committees can get bogged down with no real charter to make progress. As a result, ideas die and people become dis-incentivized. How do you make sure you aren’t killing good ideas in your business through creating structures that aren’t designed to facilitate progress?