Clarifying the Message (do we want to do that?)

by Dwayne Phillips

There is a risk to clarifying the message relative to an idea. We many learn that the idea is a bad one.

I have an idea. I have a message. My message is fuzzy, not good. I want to clarify my message.

Really? If my idea is a bad one, clarifying the message will reveal that it is bad. At that point, I would have to go back and work on the idea for a while.

Rats. I had promised everyone a message about the idea and it is time to deliver and I am going to be late with everything and…

I hate being late. I hate withdrawing my idea when I promised others that I would present it to them.

How did I get into so much trouble? I had not clarified the idea before telling others that I had a great idea and I was going to tell them about it. The act of telling others the great idea would teach me if the idea was great or not.

I need a group of folks who will listen to me as a practice, i.e., they won’t really care that much if my idea is bad. Where do I find such non-judgemental folks? I need to clarify that idea so I can find them. Sigh. Isn’t this where I began?