Building with Conviction

You have a great idea.

It could be a design, a feature, or even an entire product.

You’ve thought it through and are convinced. You present it to others and they just don’t see it — but you do.

Do you press on or let this one go?

It must be fate because just then a quote pop ups on your newsfeed.

“If you worry about hurting people’s feelings and disturbing the social structure, you’re not going to put your ideas forward.” — Malcolm Gladwell

It’s as if Malcolm is in the room, speaking directly to you.

Soon after, you read an article that reminds you that many smart people dismissed the value of SnapChat even well after they had millions of users and were turning down billion dollar acquisitions.

You’ve now become convinced you’re Evan Spiegel.

Then the final push you need arrives through a light buzz on your iPhone: it’s yet another article about how Steve Jobs didn’t change the world by playing nice. You realize that the very device you’re holding wouldn’t have existed if Steve Jobs were you. It’s a sign!

You need to take action. It’s time to go to war. You queue up the ‘Here’s to the crazy ones’ commercial one last time and are ready to act.

You’re not going to be nice this time. You’re not going to let this idea go.

Moments like these happen all too often.

As product designers and entrepreneurs, it’s always tempting to want to push through with your ideas even when others have said no. Our industry takes this notion to the extreme; glorifying stories of visionaries that stuck to their guns against all odds and carried on.

Having conviction in your ideas is important. Very important. After all, it is true that we wouldn’t have many of the products today if people didn’t continue to build on the vision that only they could see. However, not every idea should be pursued. The decision between persisting with an idea or letting go requires careful deliberation.

Unfortunately, there’s no book, no article, and no one person who can tell you exactly what you should do. There are, however, some things you should consider before deciding to push on.

Look beyond your idea

You may be convinced of a particular feature or solution for your product, however, instead of focusing on your specific approach it may be helpful to take a step back and reflect on the original problem or improvement you are trying to address. By re-shifting your focus on the problem itself, you can untie yourself from the nuances of your particular solution.

For example, imagine you’re convinced that reducing the friction on mousepads can boost productivity. By taking a step back you may realize that everyone needs better mice instead. You’re still solving the same problem but by untethering yourself from your particular approach you’ve transformed your solution.

Confrontation is not the technique

You do not need to please everyone and thus you should be prepared to find yourself in heated moments. Confrontation may be unavoidable but that shouldn’t be your go to strategy.

When people like Malcolm Gladwell advise to not worry about others feelings, they’re illustrating how things may need to get uncomfortable and confrontations may arise when trying to push for change. They’re emphasizing what it takes to build great things and the inevitable challenges that come along with doing so. They’re not stating that confrontation needs to be the workflow itself.

Teams build great products, not individuals. You need the support of your colleagues, peers, and team to succeed and there are professional and respectful ways to push for your idea.

And if you actually look past the articles that simply glamourize confrontation you’ll find all influential leaders praising and crediting their teams and colleagues for being the reason that their products were possible.

Listen. No, really listen.

Genuinely listening to feedback from others is essential to the success of any idea whether big or small.

The best listeners are the ones who know how to ask the right questions. What’s important is to listen to not only what others say but also what they’re trying to say. You need to go deeper than just the surface. What experiences have they had that credit or bias their views? Get more clarification, ask them to elaborate and to provide examples.

A meeting may not be the best time to dive deep. If you’re really convinced of your idea, then figure out a time where you can bring it up again, perhaps even in a more personal setting.

Communicate again

It’s often not even the idea that is dismissed but rather the way it’s presented to others. What you think you’ve relayed and what was actually understood can be two different things. The reasoning provided to help others understand your idea is a key ingredient to how others will evaluate it and is directly linked to the type of feedback you will receive.

Think deeply about what your feature or design is trying to solve and how it’s doing so. When you feel others haven’t grasped your idea fully, rephrase how you’ve explained it and provide specific examples.

Sleep on it

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Actually, it’s almost inevitable.

Everyone has an ego and it’s hard for anyone who creates to completely let go of what they’ve created — especially if they’ve put their heart and soul into it. The key is to take the emotion out of it.

If the idea is really important, then it will almost surely continue to be so the following day or following week. Clear your mind. Give yourself a legitimate time to pause before deciding that you want to continue to push forward.

Find another way

Look for other avenues to have your idea presented, used, or validated.

It may be fit for a different product or situation down the line. Look outside of the specific task or goal itself and see how it can be transformed to be used elsewhere.

If possible, suggest running A/B or usability studies to help validate your work. Data isn’t everything but by measuring the right things you could not only validate your idea but also unearth interesting aspects of your idea you or others hadn’t thought of originally.

And finally: Carry on

You’ve asked questions, you’ve gathered feedback and you’ve thought deeply about the problem and why it’s of significance. When you feel you’ve genuinely considered everything that surrounds your idea and are still convinced of its importance, then carry on.

But how?

Unfortunately, there’s no one way to proceed. You may need to make small adjustments or you may need to completely start from scratch and try something entirely different. You may need to be a little pushy or even a little stubborn. You may need to present it over and over again or you may need to take the idea to someone else.

At the end of the day, it’s something you’ll have to champion. Your idea is encapsulated within a vision of the future that you can see. It’s up to you to bring that vision to focus for others and make your idea a reality.