There’s a sly little trick that’s been whispered down the hallways of conference rooms and brainstorm sessions since the invention of the whiteboard marker: “Make it feel like it was their idea.”
Cute. But also kind of gross.
Like putting a wig on a cat and pretending it’s a new species.
Because the truth is, the goal isn’t to manipulate egos into false ownership.
The goal is engagement—that electric friction between two minds rubbing up against the same spark.
That moment when “I” becomes “we,” and suddenly the idea starts to grow legs, feathers, or maybe even a really ambitious mustache.
Here’s the not-so-secret recipe:
- Ask questions you don’t already have answers to. That’s not baiting. That’s collaborating.
- Leave room for surprise. The best ideas never arrive fully dressed. Let someone else pick the shoes.
- Say “what if…” more than “I think…” One invites a dance. The other just hogs the aux cord.
- Drop breadcrumbs, not blueprints. Trust your team will build something better than the castle you sketched alone at 2am.
And if someone runs with it and says, “You know what we should do…” even though it was your spark that lit the fuse—smile. Let them say “we.” Because that we is what gives the idea lungs.
Call it influence. Call it stealth. Call it witchcraft.
But really, it’s just collaboration. And that, my friend, is the only currency ideas trade in when they want to grow up and do something meaningful.
Stay Positive & Cat (With The Mustache) Is Outta The Bag
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