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Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

By Penelope Trunk | March 18, 2010

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[pic]You will never create a solid career for yourself by worrying about who is stealing your ideas. People hate whiners, they hate bickering, and, most importantly, people who are confident that they have tons of ideas don’t keep track of each one. And, to be honest, people do not get far by just having ideas. You need to have ideas and be likable. That’s almost impossible to do if you worry about whose ideas were whose.

So cut it out. Worrying about who gets credit for which ideas will prevent you from having a fulfilling work life. Here are five reasons why:

1) You do not have a finite number of good ideas

The best idea people - the ones who have tons of good ideas - share them. If you’re an entrepreneur, for instance, you have an idea and call six friends to share it. They each tell you why your idea won’t work, and you do the same thing the next week, until you land on an idea that does work. The mix of friends might ebb and flow, but for an entrepreneur, the ideas never stop coming and you never stop sharing them.

Or take the person at an ad agency who is great with coming up with ideas. Sure, it’s that person’s job to sit in a room with clients and brainstorm, tossing out idea after idea for hours at a time. But you want to follow that model. Because really it’s everyone’s job at every company to come up with ideas. What are you doing in life if you are not being creative? Every job is creative. Every person is creative - you just need to unleash that part of yourself.

The people who have lots of ideas don’t treat their ides as if they are precious. If your ideas are so valuable that they need protecting - or you think they do - you’ll come across as someone who is anything but creative. Then no one will hire you for your ideas. So if you want to be known for your ideas, act like someone who has a lot of them. Keep them coming and give them away all the time. In the end, it will benefit you. If people steal them, take it as a compliment. The people with the fewest ideas are the ones who hoard them.

2) There are no unique ideas.

Get over yourself. I know you’re brilliant, but trust me when I tell you that someone has had the same idea - whatever it is. Do yourself a favor and instead of worrying about being the idea person, become the person that can make the idea reality. Everyone has ideas. Few people can execute. Deliver the ideas, and do it in a fun way. That will bring meaning to your work life.

3) People like nice people, not smart people

My favorite workplace research shows that people would rather work with people who are likeable than people who are competent. The research is from Tiziana Casciaro, and was published in the Harvard Business Review twice - maybe like a nuclear bomb, because people didn’t believe it the first time.

In fact, people view the nice people as more competent, even if they are not. And the skilled people who are jerks start appearing incompetent to their co-workers. That’s how powerful being nice at the office is. In other words, others will view you as you better at your job if you stop bitching about who gets credit for ideas.

In my experience, the person everyone likes is the person who helps others get their job done. That person genuinely cares if you are happy doing your work; she genuinely cares if you feel connected and engaged. One way to become that well-liked person - share your ideas.

4) Your job is to make your boss happy

Complaining doesn’t make your boss’s life easier. And demanding that your boss give you all the credit does not help, either. If you make your boss’s life a dream, your boss will help you. She will mentor you, train you, guide you through the organization and pay you well. If she does that, so what if she takes your ideas? And if she doesn’t do that, then leave.

Bosses do not complain that they don’t have enough idea people working for them. Bosses complain that there is too much work to do. This is because bosses always think they are the idea people, whether or not they are. So if your boss thinks your co-worker has all the ideas, it doesn’t matter. Your boss will promote the person who gets things done. In fact, maybe this means you should give your co-worker all your ideas and frame yourself as the one who is actually helping your boss day to day.

5) If you want to get credit for your ideas, get a blog

Resumes don’t showcase ideas. Resumes are a history of what others have allowed you to do in their organization. If you want to be known for the ideas you are coming up with right now, then write a blog. It’s incredibly easy to write a blog if you have a lot of ideas. The ideas don’t have to reveal company secrets; they just need to reveal how you think - about a wide range of things in your field.

My company, Brazen Careerist, is a good starting point for creating an idea-based resume. And once you get started, you will see yourself differently; you’ll feel more valuable.

So start putting your ideas out for public consumption. That’s how you really get credit for good ideas. By saying them often and in front of lots of people. Think about that: It’s hard to steal someone’s ideas when those ideas are out in public. A warning, though: Don’t write about people stealing your ideas - that’s a bore. Just write the ideas. Talk about ideas on your blog, and others will associate those ideas with you.

Not all your ideas will be good, or on target. But it’s more important simply to spout ideas regularly. So-called experts are not right more than the rest of us with opinions we don’t share; they are just willing to put their ideas out there. Experts are people who start interesting conversations.

Where will all this get you? Someone will want to hire you or work with you not because of the list of tasks on your resume, but because you are that person with all those ideas. And once you’re hired as the idea person, it doesn’t matter if someone steals your ideas. Spreading ideas will be your job - and your work life will be richer for it.

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Related Tags Job, Boss, Person, Idea, Recruitment & Staffing, Blogging, Workforce Management, Internet, Penelope Trunk

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Ridiculous advice

Someone steals your ideas, and get's credit for them.. Call 'em out. Business isn't about being "nice" - it is about doing the best you can, and being Rewarded for the work that YOU did, not allowing someone else to take credit for it.

Not willing to speak up, take credit for your work, then don't be surprised if your boss isn't impressed by your cowardice. People want to hire go getters; people who are willing to push the envelope, and individuals who are willing to stand up for what they believe in.

If you don't stand up for your work, then it is sure indicator that you don't believe in yourself, or you don't believe in your work... even if your idea isn't good.. today.. take credit for it.. cause it can be developed on, and become even better - tomorrow..

Be proud of your work, be proud and stand up for yourself.. your boss would appreciate it..

Best way to do it.. keep records, and allow the individual who is stealing your idea to hang themselves.. they don't know all the details, or have the full concept, so they won't be able to answer specific details or questions.. you can always trip them up..

And for sure.. find experts in the employment field to get advice from.. experts who actually walk the walk and beware the self proclaimed..

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hirecentrix

03/18/2010 05:22 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

Good points...good article. Thank you.

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Chris Ferrell

03/18/2010 05:22 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

One of my favorite quotations says something about "...there is no limit to the amout of good that people can accomplish working together, if nobody cares who takes the credit."

Jack Carroll

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jcmentor

03/18/2010 05:28 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

Spoken like someone who has never had a truly worthwhile idea Penelope. Who have you been stealing ideas from ? Maybe you got caught is the reason for this little pout.

Point 4 sounds like you think it's better to be a kiss @$$ rather than be smart.

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thedudeistoocool@...

03/18/2010 05:37 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

Oh please, Penolope must be a manager who likes suck ups! Any manager without an orginal idea and a lousy personality to go with it should just be fired.

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mac8151

03/18/2010 05:43 PM

• Reply to

RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

I try hard to avoid reading your stuff, but dammit you're good at writing great headlines, and then grabbing me before I check the byline to see who is writing this great post.

After 34 years of coming up with ideas and making them work, I agree with everything you say. You need to be less smart and more likable so I can add your blog back to my RSS. [pic]

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GoingLikeSixty

03/18/2010 05:53 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

What a goof ass garbage advice!!

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mmk47340

03/18/2010 06:09 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

I remember reading something that stuck with me, I believe it was something Ted Kennedy once told his staff. It went something like: "Don't worry too much about the credit. If the project is successful, there will be plenty of credit to go around. If it fails, you don't want the credit anyway".

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stevejf7

03/18/2010 06:11 PM

• Reply to

RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

I like your blog idea. I decided to do just that and I am in the

process of condensing around 20 years of experiences into

thumbnails that then open up into individual articles.



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Alessandro Machi

03/18/2010 06:13 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

This is not the best advice. Managers need to recognize those employees that are contributing above and beyond; not take credit for their people's accomplishments. As a former executive in a couple of different Fortune 100 firms, I would never take the glory. Instead, I always made sure people knew who was responsible for the breakthrough.

The following article may shed some light on some things that managers can do to take care of their folks.





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noeldibona

03/18/2010 06:14 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

Actually, your ideas come from someone else's.

Think a moment... whose ideas are that the sun rises on the east, there should be days and nights, and you shall have a brain that has capability to multiply ideas million times and hope for the betterment for humankind , and to find solutions (instead of tension) that are basically only temporary anyway.

Ideas are temporary, don't you think? Good ideas now may be bad tomorrow. It is bad idea to claim an idea that fails to recognise its origin.

For example, Thomas Edison's idea to make an electric bulb (called "light") is originated from "day-night" idea, after 2000 times he tried and failed. Why it is 25, 40, 60, 75, 100, 150 (max) - Mr. James Watts must have ideas about the numbers. Don't we miss those days where we eat together using candles on the tables, so romantic! It would be a good idea to go back to candles and flowers for your dates.

The reason that patenting process comes is that more ideas can spring out of people brains, instead of protecting someones' it's actually meant to share it ...

The spirit of working together is more superior to any ideas coming from each team member. I believe ideas should be shared.

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simplyant

03/18/2010 06:17 PM

• Reply to

RE: RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

@simplyant

I wonder is Edison would have worked as hard if his inventions were presented as being created by some anonymous "Team". The fact is that we are judged, rewarded, promoted, or fired as individuals. If HR and top management know little about you other than that you are an agreeable team player then you may be part of the team that gets let go. If you are unsung, who knows you are a hero?

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eflor

10/29/2010 06:56 AM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

I'm sorry Penelope but I completely disagree with you. What is the

point of sharing ideas and brainstorming when someone else gets the

credit for your hard work? As a writer, I'm shocked to hear you say

this. Yes, ideas are fluid, but within the ideas is a piece of myself

stamped onto them. So to have another person take credit for

something that has my personal stamp on it is like giving someone my

social security number so they can go and open a bunch of credit in

my name. Sorry, but I don't think so! Someone really needs to review

blog postings like this. If I read to many of them I will just stop coming

by the site all together. I don't need to pour bad advise and ideas into

my head. Life is TOO short!

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rmwithey

03/18/2010 06:20 PM

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RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

I love this piece.

If you are intent on getting credit for having had the idea, you better be prepared to finance it, market it, execute it, sell it, etc. If you hoard ideas and are overly concerned about authorship, you should not work for someone else or consider yourself a "team player".

Consider the alternatives carefully.

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bzeins

03/18/2010 06:21 PM

• Reply to

RE: Is Someone Stealing Your Ideas? Let Them

Sharing and work as TEAM is one thing, let them STEAL is another thing. It?s two different things at all.

So I agree with the fact that we should share our ideas with our bosses or co-workers and work as a TEAM but just let them steal and get credit for it definitely WRONG!

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