Why Good Ideas Don’t Scale
- David Creelman
- 2025年12月2日
- 読了時間: 3分
It’s frustrating for HR pros when they come across a good idea, maybe even pilot it successfully, only to find they can’t scale it across the organization. Why does this happen, and what can we do about it?
An Example: No-meeting Fridays
Let’s imagine a manager watches a TEDtalk about a cool idea: ban meetings on Friday so people have time to clear up their work before the weekend. She tries it in her group, and it’s a great success. However, when HR tries to scale this up across the organization, other groups resist or drop the practice after a few weeks.
Another great idea bites the dust? Perhaps, or perhaps it wasn’t really such a great idea in the first place. What works in one department may not work in another with different processes and culture. What works well when the novelty of the idea excites people may fail when that initial excitement wears off. There are also complications when something is done at scale, such as making the already hard task of scheduling meetings that involve several departments even harder.
There is, of course, also the usual challenge of change management. Managers tend to like ideas they think up on their own, and they often resist ideas imposed from the outside. If the idea of “no-meeting Fridays” feels imposed, then it’s not surprising it’s hard to scale.
We need to be careful about our enthusiasm for an idea we like, even when it has worked well in a pilot. What appears to be a good idea may not work at scale. The idea may not be welcomed by others. If we frequently push ideas that others do not like, then we damage our relationships and credibility.
Where the Best Ideas Lie
Sometimes good ideas don’t scale because of poor change management or because of political factors that block implementation. However, often they don’t scale because they are not actually particularly good ideas. These “not actually that good” ideas are sometimes referred to as “shiny objects”. They grab our attention without providing real value.
The solution to the ongoing frustration of failing to have your ideas scale is to avoid starting with shiny objects. Instead, start with a specific problem that a particular business unit is having and work with them to find a solution. If the need exists in other units, then begin to share the idea with them.
The best ideas can be found by digging beneath a specific problem a specific unit faces. Note that the problem shouldn’t be an overarching term like engagement. It needs to be grounded in specific examples of what is going wrong. If the problem is employees carelessly missing deadlines, then dig into that issue, not the broad idea of poor engagement.
Getting business leaders to share their problems with you is harder than watching a TEDtalk. It requires slowly building relationships. However, the payoff is real solutions to real problems and a place to show how HR’s insights into human behaviour are valuable.
A Toolkit, not a Solution in Search of a Problem
The world will try to sell you shiny objects; don’t fall for the glitter. These shiny objects are often solutions in search of a problem. Instead, when you hear of a potentially good idea, such as “no-meeting Fridays,” add it to your toolkit for when it’s needed. Always start by building relationships with the business, and from there add value by solving the problems they raise.