August 29
A Better Idea Arrives
We have put considerable thought into a proposal. Then someone offers a simpler one. The room brightens, and we feel ourselves searching for a flaw. A moment earlier we wanted the problem solved. Now we want it solved in a way that preserves our place in the solution. The change in motive can happen before we notice it.
Good leadership makes use of ideas wherever they come from. That sounds easy until the better idea belongs to someone we find irritating, or someone with less experience. Setting aside our proposal does not erase the care we gave it. Our work may have helped make the conversation possible. We can acknowledge the better suggestion without explaining how close we were to thinking of it ourselves. Serving a shared purpose sometimes means being genuinely pleased with a result that leaves very little evidence of our contribution.
What happens inside me when someone else's suggestion makes mine unnecessary?
Their idea deserves its own credit.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept IX, p. C-29.