You have a great idea. It's different, unique, a bit of a push. But man it's a good idea. You wonder, in fact, why you hadn't thought of it sooner. Sweet sounds of sirens emanate. You're so enamored with it, you just have to share. Why wouldn't everyone be as thrilled with it as you?

Well, let me count the ways...

1) Most people don't like new ideas - especially when they aren't theirs.
2) Ideas require people to process. That requires the intellectual capacity that few have on any given day - either because it's being consumed elsewhere, or because it never existed to begin with.
3) You have to translate your idea so others understand what the hell it is you're talking about. And that's a heady - yet oft underestimated - feat.
4) It's almost always easier to say 'no.' Why? It just is...

So why do we even give them the chance to say 'no' in the first place? Wouldn't you rather just take the pencil yourself and stick it in your eye than give them the satisfaction of doing so? 'No' is coming my friends. And because I know it's coming, I don't ask.

I first share my ideas as if I simply observed something interesting on the way into work that morning. I start with things like, "I was thinking about" or "I noticed" or "I came across this" or "I've been working on." I simply share the idea with absolutely no strings attached - with no 'ask' at all. And then I go my merry way.

the seed is planted

Then I come back a few days or weeks down the road and I say things like "remember when I told you about" or "I'm still thinking about" or "guess what more I learned about." I give them more context, but I still don't have an 'ask.' I might say, "just think about it." But that's it.

the seed is watered and fed

If your idea is good and the person you're sharing it with has some grey matter between the ears, the seed will begin to grow...on it's own. It will have taken root before they had the chance to cut it down. Come back one last time and ask for some support in pursuing it further. There's still really nothing to say 'no' to. It is, after all, just the idea of the idea.

And now that it's showing some signs of life, you can focus on moving it along - getting others on board, building it out, filling in the blanks, testing it further. Your idea might not survive in the end. But it will have at least been given a fighting chance.