Wouldn’t it be cool if…

Recently I was talking to an entrepreneur about a conference he’d attended in Chicago. After hearing some of the event details I asked about his biggest takeaway. He said that one of the speakers had a “wouldn’t it be cool if…” program at his startup where he’d solicit ideas from team members as well as present his own on a weekly basis at their all hands meeting. Every week, five “wouldn’t it be cool if…” ideas had to be presented.

Sure, anyone can ask for ideas, but the key for “wouldn’t it be cool if…” is to ingrain trying new things into the core of the culture. Most companies are risk averse, and as the business grows and scales, risk aversion grows as well. Every day team members come up with new ideas to change and improve things, but without the right ethos, many ideas are never shared. Incorporate a “wouldn’t it be cool if…” program and increase idea sharing.

What else? What are your thoughts on using the phrase “wouldn’t it be cool if…” more frequently as a preface to sharing ideas?