Our brains are set to look for problems. So when someone pitches a really fun, creative idea, it’s common to spend the rest of the meeting talking about how it “won’t work” because of all the things that could go wrong. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to balance that out. Instead of being the “voice of reason,” be the “voice of potential.”
“What if we go over budget?”
“What if this idea is so huge that new clients come pouring in?”
“What if people hate it?”
“What if everyone loves it and we’re given the keys to the city for being so wonderful?”
When people “What if?” they assume it’s more realistic to imagine bad things. But concerns about wild, unmitigated success are just as valid. I’m glad somebody had the courage to express them.