Reading 11 December

How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea

• The buyer tends to gauge the pitcher's creativity as well as the proposal itself. Any judgements of the pitcher's ability to come up with feasible ideas quickly can overshadow the idea's worth


• Humans categorize others in less than 150 milliseconds. Within 30 minutes, they've made lasting judgement about character


• Catchers do not have objective measures for assessing creativity, so they watch for subtle cues


• Have three prototypes of pitchers: showrunners, the artist, and the neophyte (young, inexperienced, naive)


• Nancy Cantor and Walter Mischel demonstrate that we use sets of stereotypes called "person prototypes" to categorize strangers upon meeting


• Overcome stereotyping by involving the pitcher in the creative process


• Artists are passionate, but more awkward. They appear to have little or no knowledge regarding the details of implementation, but they command the catcher's imagination.
• The Artist engages catchers in "thought experiments" and invite catchers into imaginary worlds
• Artists, who consist of 40% of successful pitchers, are the most creative
• Neophyte's present themselves as eager learnings and score points for trying to do the impossible
• Beware of individuals who convey creative potential, but lack the real thing and gain prominence
• Real creativity isn't easily classified. Many creative types are very practical, and have cognitive flexibility, a penchant for diversity, and an orientation towards problem solving
• A catcher needs to ensure that he tests the pitcher. Test previous experience, ask for prototypes prior to hiring

As I read this article, I tried to characterize my own presenting style. I realized that I am the showrunner. I certainly would love to be the artist, but for some reason, I feel that my talents are better used in support of the arts, rather than creating the arts. That is the gift I have been given. But that does not mean necessarily that we should restrict our specific styles. I would be interested in those persons who are successful because they are able to play all three roles, depending on the catcher, sincerely and honestly. Are there ways that we can reach that level of presentation style? How can I engage the artist and imagination or help people dream rather than wowing them with skill? Companies that can find these people are going to be the ones that pitch the most successful ideas the most frequently. I would love to see this concept explored more in depth as I travel my own innovative career.