"Olivier, perhaps you should stop sharing ideas with people."

_ I'm sorry... what?

"Ideas. I said you should stop sharing them."

_ I'm... not sure I understand what you mean.

"You have a tendency to share ideas. A couple of people here have complained about that."

_ About ideas.

"About the fact that you share them."

_ You're joking.

"No. They've complained to me about it."

_ Who?

"It wouldn't be fair for me to say. A couple of people."

_ Were my ideas... offensive?

"No, they're actually very good. They're fantastic ideas. Everybody really loves them."

_ ... But... this couple of people complain about them anyway.

"Yes."

_ Were they unsolicited ideas?

"No. That isn't the issue."

_ Um... I don't get it.

"It makes them feel that you're telling them how to do their jobs."

_ (Chuckle.) Seriously?

"Seriously."

_ How so?

"Frankly, if you can't see it, I'm not sure I want to explain it to you."

_ What ideas are you talking about? I mean, what ideas specifically are you talking about?

"I don't know. I can't think of an example right now."

_ Well... It's kind of important that you do because I really want to understand this. These are good ideas that everyone loves and thinks are great... but a couple of people are complaining about them? I... They must have complained about specific instances. They would have.

"I can't think of one right now. But you should stop sharing ideas with other people. It's just not something everyone is comfortable with here yet. We've been doing things a certain way for fifty years, and not everyone here feels comfortable with change."

_ Um... You do realize that it's my job to actually come up with ideas for products and marketing and business opportunities, right?

"Yes."

_ And that we've already made and saved a lot of money because of these ideas, right?

"Yes."

_No, I mean. That's what I was hired to do. It's my job.

"Yes, I understand that, but these people would like you to just focus more on your other work."

_ That is my work. There is no other work.

"I'm sure there are other things that you do."

_ Actually, no. It starts with the ideas. Without the ideas, there is no work.

"Look, I am just conveying to you what has been brought to my attention. There are people here who have worked very hard over the years to put this place where it is. You have no idea how much we've grown over the last twenty years. The advances that were made before you came. When you share your ideas and it gets back to those people, they feel like you don't appreciate that and are telling them how to do their jobs."

_ You can't be serious.

(Incredulous and condescending look from the HR person) "I honestly have a difficult time believing that you didn't think that something like this would happen."

_ Believe it. Look. I don't know what we're even talking about. Other department managers send me articles about stuff that's marketing related, or design related... I send them stuff too. We have meetings to discuss them. It's a dialogue we have. It's collaborative and enriching. It's simple stuff. Good stuff. I learn, they learn... It's actually a very cool way to be exposed to new ideas, technology, and emerging trends. It helps us get better. It isn't like I say Hey, you're doing this wrong. Do it this way instead. It isn't like that. We share case studies... Most of the modernization in the plant has been a result of this dialogue. Are you telling me that's all been a bad thing?

"They don't like it."

_ So... wait. I still don't get it. Is it the ideas? The delivery? Am I being condescending or arrogant in any way?

"No, no, no. It's nothing like that. They just don't think it's your place to be sharing any ideas."

(Stunned look.) _ Huh?

"Olivier, I am going to be candid with you. You think that we don't see your talents, but we do. We're all very aware that you are years ahead of the curve. Decades, even. That you're smarter and more market and design savvy than anyone here. You are undoubtedly the most articulate and creative person that has ever worked for (this company). Bar-none...."

(picking my chin up from the floor.)

"...But you've only been here three years, and these people have been here for over twenty years. You just haven't paid your dues yet. You need to be patient. When the time comes and you are asked for your input, then maybe your role here will evolve. But right now, you have to understand that some people... who have never worked anywhere else... can feel threatened by someone like you. So you should keep your ideas private. I'm not suggesting that you dumb things down. Just that you... give people time to adjust to the fact that things in the outside world have changed and that they may not have all of the answers."

_ I'm sorry... I'm still stuck on what you said a few minutes ago. So... you guys realize that I have these skills? That I know what I am talking about? That I am right about most of this stuff?

"Yes. We are very aware of that."

_ But... you're asking me to put a lid on it. To stop sharing ideas and no longer participate in the dialogue.

"Until you've been here a lot longer than three years."

_ Like, how long?

"There's no set amount of time. Most of our VPs have been here more than twenty years. One day, if you keep your nose to the grindstone, you might move up the ladder enough."

_ The grindstone? You think I plan on still being here in twenty years, having conversations like this one?

"I've been here almost that long. They've been great years."

_ You know... we don't have twenty years. The market is changing now. Today. Things need to be done this year, not twenty years from now, in order for this company to be successful again. Second, why wait? You have me now. I can do this now. You've seen the work my team has been putting out. The changes we've already brought about. Our customers are coming back, our reps are excited again, we actually have a story to tell now, for the first time in twenty-five years. You would have me stop all of that? Put off innovation for what... ten more years, just because a few people feel uncomfortable with... change?

"Don't worry. (The company) will still be here in ten years and we'll have plenty of time to catch up then."

_ You can't be serious.

"It wouldn't be the first time we've done it."

_ Let me get this straight... you actually realize that I know what needs to be done and how. That I can help you win back a huge chunk of market share... that my team can do all of this... That we can do it now and that there's a need for it now.

"Yes. I do."

_ But... you're asking me to sit back and do nothing.

"Not nothing, no. Just... less. More um... routine work."

_ Until I've paid my dues.

"Until you've paid your dues, yes."

_ And you equate my "paying dues" with sitting on my ass in a back office rather than continuing to make this company loads of money like I have been, and helping put you back on the map?

"It would make things easier for a few key people, yes."

_ And when you hear yourself say this, it sounds reasonable to you?

(Pause.) "I am just telling you how it is, Olivier."

_ That's quite a business model you've got there. Really. You guys should be proud.

"Yes. It's worked well for us over the years."

(end scene.)

Conversations like this can be pretty entertaining if you have a sense of humor, but they're also heartbreaking. It's kind of like watching your best friend who had been sober for three years fall off the wagon and start drinking again... Or like watching one of your kids give up on a dream.

It's just sad.

I guess the questions you have to ask yourself are these: Do you really want to work for a company that doesn't value innovation? That refuses to push the boundaries of its comfort zone?

Do you really want to spend your life "safely" tucked in the belly of a slowly sinking ship? (Even if on the outside, the ship looks cool and has a popular name?)

These are serious questions, and yes, you do need to answer them.

Sometimes, doing something, moving the needle, helping make a company great again goes completely against the grain, no matter what the soundbites and taglines say. Lots of companies love to talk the talk when it comes to innovation and growth and taking chances, but very few of them actually walk the walk.

Playing it safe is still the corporate religion.

To quote Jason Oke again:

"Most people are driven more by the desire to avoid failure, and more specifically to avoid blame for failure, rather than a desire to achieve success.

"(...) Most companies compensate people based on short-term growth, rather than long-term vision, and stigmatize failure. Nobody wants to be the person who lost a chunk of shareholder money. Really, how many organizations actively encourage risk-taking and challenging convention? Not a lot."