Nothing kills innovation more than someone in a meeting making a “good point.”

Good points are made by people in the meeting who really don’t need to be there. People with vague job titles. Their job is to make these good points whenever someone important is in the room. Someone like a client or a CEO. These good points sound something like this:

“According to our research, humor doesn’t resonate with our target market.”

“Our audience is known for loyalty. This work doesn’t acknowledge that.”
“I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, but the work really needs _________.”

” But, our audience is the fastest growing market in the country. Do you think they’ll respond to this?”

Don’t get me wrong. You are free to criticize the shit out of my work. But, anyone can identify a problem. Our job is to solve them. That’s why we get paid the big bucks. It’s easy to make a good point and sound smart in a meeting. That’s why so many people continue to make these good points. But, what do they accomplish? Instead of making a good point, present a good solution like:

“I think it’s great work, but humor might not be the best way to go. Can we lose the guy in the gorilla suit?”

I know, someone is screwing with your work now. But, at least it’s still alive and the meeting’s momentum is still moving forward. Good points seem to do the exact opposite.

- John Huggins