In my experience we are all pretty good at putting our opinions forward but, we do let things slip as our enthusiasm wanes during the process of toiling toward a final goal, especially if the results are difficult to quantify.
So the pragmatic question in all these matters is, what is the goal and is it quantifiable?
Within my experience, I have found that setting a quantifiable goal is at least 90% of the battle toward successfully completing any undertaking.
When the goal has been agreed upon and reached, the success spurs participants onward toward the next agreed goal.
'Baby steps' secures continued onward progress toward the ultimate goal and success ...
1. Know Where We’re Going
One of the first ways to focus our creative energies is to identify the problem.
What’s broken that needs fixing?
What is the main issue and ideal outcome we want to achieve.
We need to make a note of that.
No matter how abstract sounding our goal is, that’s the destination we’re now traveling toward.
Then imagine we’ve already reached it.
Envision that feeling of achievement.
Coming to understand and appreciate exactly what we’re trying to reach is the first step toward actually reaching it.
2. Plot A Course
Now we need to block out a rough strategy.
What needs to happen before the next thing can happen?
We can get a little crazy and innovative with it.
Which paths aren’t obvious?
It’s okay if our map has some 'forking' roads ( punny ) – we'll follow each of them so we know where they’ll go. We’ll ultimately choose our route later.
We may need help to put our ideas into action, who can help us?
Are there skills or resources we already possess in the community that can help us execute our vision?
It’s easy to get blocked here but we have a broad level of of skills and expertise in the community and we just need to pinpoint it or them.
We have to stay focused on our challenge, to try and approach it from different angles. We have to give ourselves the time it takes to see them.
3. Create A Strategy
Time to stop planning and get something done.
It doesn’t have to be final – it doesn’t even have to be good – but it should at least be worthy of sharing with the people in the community we respect.
We need to prove it’s possible and that the response is promising before we push too far.
We can’t let negative criticism derail our process, we have to listen carefully.
If multiple people in the community voice the same concerns, they’re probably worth addressing in some way or another – now, as opposed to later.
Sometimes the phrase, “We'll have to go back to the drawing board,” really means we’re evolving and finding out what works and our final output will be better as a result of it.
If we need more help in order to get our strategy finalized, we need to make sure they’re people we respect, trust and share our enthusiasm.
If we take our own work seriously, the rest of the community team will too.
We can't expect others in the community to be as excited about our ideas as we are.
It’s okay if they aren’t. However, if we involve them early enough, they may come around and agreement can be reached.
6. Go For It.
After we’ve refined everything we think needs to be done, it’s time to get it out into the world.
It’s wise to come up with an agreed plan of action first.
How will we release our work?
Do we have a way to build hype and anticipation?
What channels will we use to share it?
Who do we want to see it and use it or interact with it?
We have to nail down our roll-out strategy and then execute.
K.I.S.S. ( Keep It Simple Stupid ).
If the plan starts to look too complicated, we should simplify.
Getting any creative idea or strategy out into the world is ultimately proof-positive of our creativity.
Otherwise, we’re an echo chamber for our own ideas.
Once they’re out there in the world and functioning, we’ll come up with ways to build on our success or do something altogether new and completely different.
"SCIENTIA HUMANA LIBERTAS"
Courtesy of @joshoeah