WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.740 I want you to picture a scenario. It is Tuesday 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:06.919 morning. You are completely in the zone. Oh, 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.720 yeah. Maybe you're wrestling with this massive 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.919 complex spreadsheet, or you're grading a huge 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.019 stack of papers, or maybe you're just finally 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:16.940 getting to that email backlog. You have a system 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:21.000 going, you have a flow, and then knock, knock. 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.059 The absolute sound of doom. Right. You look up, 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.940 and there they are, the one colleague. The eyes 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.160 are a little too bright. The energy is a little 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.620 too manic for 10 in the morning. And they drop 00:00:31.620 --> 00:00:33.679 the line that strikes fear into the heart of 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:36.299 literally every competent worker. They say, I 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:39.219 have a great idea. Oh, man. I can physically 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:41.399 feel everyone listening just wincing right now. 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.899 It is such a specific workplace archetype, isn't 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.759 it? The person who honestly thinks the idea is 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:49.590 the hard part. Exactly. But being the polite 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:51.810 professional you are, you humor them. You say 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:54.189 something like, OK, that sounds interesting. 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:56.289 To make that happen, you'd need to draft a proposal, 00:00:56.950 --> 00:00:59.429 secure the budget, probably coordinate with IT. 00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:03.409 And then they hit you with the closer, the line 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:05.510 that just stops the conversation call. They go, 00:01:05.569 --> 00:01:07.650 oh, no, no, I thought you would do that. I'm 00:01:07.650 --> 00:01:09.590 more of a big idea person. I come up with the 00:01:09.590 --> 00:01:12.329 concepts. I let others implement them. They're 00:01:12.329 --> 00:01:15.030 big idea person. It's really fascinating how 00:01:15.030 --> 00:01:17.090 pervasive this character is. Whether you're in 00:01:17.090 --> 00:01:20.310 education, tech, corporate, or nonprofit, they 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:22.969 are everywhere. And honestly, it's usually the 00:01:22.969 --> 00:01:25.510 source of a lot of resentment. A massive resentment. 00:01:25.670 --> 00:01:27.689 Right. But what if I told you that this annoying 00:01:27.689 --> 00:01:30.370 character might actually be the absolute key 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:32.469 to your next promotion? See, that sounds like 00:01:32.469 --> 00:01:35.980 a total paradox. But that is exactly what we 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:38.200 are unpacking today. We're doing a deep dive 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:41.840 into a really provocative piece by Dr. Gary Ackerman 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.019 from his site, Hack Science Education. The article 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:48.060 is titled, On the Limited Value of Big Idea People. 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:51.359 Anne Ackerman is a veteran. He has been in educational 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.700 technology and leadership for decades. He's seen 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:55.540 all the trends come and go. Yeah, he's been around 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:58.500 the block. Exactly. What I love about this source 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:00.680 is that he isn't just venting, though. I mean, 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.000 he does vent a little bit. He is actually breaking 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.239 down the physics of why these interactions fail, 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:07.980 and much more importantly, how you can hack the 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:10.659 system. So the mission for today's deep dive 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:13.520 is pretty clear. We're going to figure out if 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.360 the big idea person is a trap you should avoid 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.520 at all costs or if they are a ladder you can 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.759 climb. Because Ackerman suggests it depends entirely 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.580 on where you are in your own career. It's a really 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:28.699 nuanced take. It completely challenges that binary 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:31.419 of idea guy equals bad. Let's start with the 00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:32.979 bad, though, because it's fun to talk about. 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:35.219 Yeah. Ackerman opens with this anecdote that 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.900 just recently happened to him. A colleague pitches 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:41.099 a quote unquote great idea, but interrupts Ackerman's 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:43.379 advice on how to actually execute it by declaring 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.219 they are a visionary, not a doer. Right. And 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:48.340 Ackerman immediately connects this to a principal 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:50.500 he knew 20 years ago who said the exact same 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:54.080 thing. It's a pattern that spans decades. And 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.539 I think we really need to pause on Ackerman's 00:02:56.539 --> 00:02:59.900 critique here because it is scathing but so accurate. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:02.879 He says the ideas presented by both the recent 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.060 colleague and that old principal were, you know, 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:08.460 fine. They addressed real problems. But, and 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:11.479 this is the crucial part, they were not recognizably 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:13.400 innovative. Which is a very polite way of saying, 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.020 you aren't Steve Jobs, isn't it? It really is. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.740 I think we often confuse pointing out a problem 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:21.240 with having an idea. Yeah. Saying traffic is 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:23.060 bad is not an invention. Saying we should have 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:25.060 flying cars is also not really an invention if 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:27.520 you have absolutely no clue how to build an engine. 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:30.520 Ackerman points out that these big idea people 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.139 usually just identify a gap. They see something 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.439 that is broken. But the gap between this is broken 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.419 and here is the fix is just... Massive. Right. 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:40.939 It's the execution gap. And Ackerman turned both 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:42.740 of these people down. He told them his plate 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:45.340 was full. But let's dig into why these projects 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.280 usually fail. Because it's not just because the 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.240 doers are busy. Ackerman hints at a very specific 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.699 skill deficiency in these self -proclaimed visionaries. 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:55.939 It is the difference between an architect and 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:59.300 an engineer. But honestly, much worse. Imagine 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.599 an architect who sketches a beautiful, gravity 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:05.860 -defying building but has zero knowledge of physics 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:08.460 or materials. They just hand the sketch to you 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:12.360 and say, build this. Good luck. Right, good luck. 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:14.599 That is what these big idea people are doing. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.819 Ackerman notes that they often entirely lack 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:20.660 the project management skills to actually implement 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:23.519 anything. Project management sounds so dry though. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:25.860 What does that actually mean in this specific 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.279 context? It means they don't know how to break 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.660 a vision down into milestones. They don't know 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:33.319 how to anticipate logistical friction. They have 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.139 no idea how to budget time or political capital 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:38.620 within an organization. They just see the shiny 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:41.899 destination. So when they say, I'm an idea person, 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:44.100 what they are really admitting is, I don't know 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:46.720 how to get us from here to there. Yes, exactly. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.079 And that puts the burden 100 % on the person 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:51.540 they are pitching to. Which is wild when you 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:53.959 think about it. It is. And that's why Ackerman, 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:56.899 at this stage in his career, says no. He knows 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:58.959 that if he says yes, he isn't just helping out. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:01.379 He is going to be doing the work of the architect, 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:03.699 the engineer, the construction crew, and the 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:07.420 safety inspector. Well, the big idea person probably 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.579 stands at the ribbon cutting ceremony holding 00:05:09.579 --> 00:05:13.220 the giant scissors. Which is the absolute nightmare 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:15.860 scenario for any competent professional. You 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:18.139 do the work, they get the glory. And usually 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:20.079 the project fails anyway because they don't support 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.620 you properly. Ackerman mentions the principal's 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:24.860 project from 20 years ago just never happened. 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:28.509 It evaporated. Vaporware. Because without execution, 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.649 ideas are just vapor. In a professional setting, 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:34.670 an idea without an implementation plan is effectively 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:37.290 worthless. It might even have negative value 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:39.209 because it distracts people from the work that 00:05:39.209 --> 00:05:41.810 actually matters. Completely agree. Okay, so 00:05:41.810 --> 00:05:44.329 we've established the trap. If you are a competent 00:05:44.329 --> 00:05:47.430 professional, the idea guy is a time vampire. 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:51.050 You should run away. But hold on, Ackerman pivots 00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:53.550 here. He says there is one specific strategy. 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:55.870 one specific time in your life where you should 00:05:55.870 --> 00:05:57.750 actually look at that idea guy and say, yes, 00:05:58.029 --> 00:06:00.649 absolutely. The newbie exception. This is where 00:06:00.649 --> 00:06:03.389 the article gets really strategic and honestly 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:06.449 quite brilliant. So paint the picture for us. 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:10.250 When does the math change on this? The math changes 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:14.069 when you are brand new to the field, when you 00:06:14.069 --> 00:06:17.370 are hungry. When you have skills, maybe you're 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:19.769 great at organizing or writing code or designing 00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:22.709 curriculum But you have no wins on your professional 00:06:22.709 --> 00:06:25.069 scoreboard. You have no reputation. You're just 00:06:25.069 --> 00:06:27.670 a ghost in the machine You're a ghost and the 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:30.730 big idea person. They have a serious problem. 00:06:31.029 --> 00:06:33.439 They cannot get the veterans like Ackerman to 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:35.220 help them because the veterans are too busy or 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:38.339 too smart to fall for it. So the big idea person 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:41.680 is absolutely desperate for labor. They are looking 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:44.620 for someone, anyone, to build their rocket ship. 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:47.319 And Ackerman uses his own life as the case study 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:50.199 here. We're going back to 1988. 1988, the era 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:52.600 of big hair and shoulder pads. Ackerman is a 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.220 young educator. He is just starting out. And 00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:57.339 there is an assistant principal, let's just call 00:06:57.339 --> 00:07:00.269 her the AP, who has a major mandate. She needs 00:07:00.269 --> 00:07:02.689 to implement a drug and alcohol prevention curriculum. 00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.329 Oh, man, I remember those. The whole just -say 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:08.490 -no -dare era. It was a massive deal in schools 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:12.110 at the time. Lots of grant money, lots of intense 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:14.310 pressure from the community to just do something. 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:18.990 So the AP comes to Ackerman. And notice the dynamic 00:07:18.990 --> 00:07:22.490 here. She is the idea person, or at least the 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:24.529 person with the mandate. And she wants him to 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:26.649 do everything. Right, she asks him to do a lot. 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:29.100 She wants him to go to the training. start using 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:30.639 it with his middle school students. And this 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.939 is the really big one. She wants him to help 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:36.300 other teachers plan lessons for it. Whoa. That 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:38.220 is not just, hey, do this in your classroom. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.100 That is, hey, lead the faculty. Exactly. She 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:44.240 was asking a total rookie to lead seasoned veterans. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:46.759 Now, if Ackerman had been cynical, he could have 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:49.439 easily said, wait, isn't that your job? You're 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.160 the administrator. Why am I doing your job for 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:54.100 you? Which is exactly what he would say today. 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:59.329 100%. But in 1988, He said yes, and he admits 00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:01.290 in the article he doesn't even remember if she 00:08:01.290 --> 00:08:03.350 was a big idea person in the pejorative sense. 00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:05.449 It really didn't matter. What mattered was the 00:08:05.449 --> 00:08:08.850 vacuum she created. She created a space for leadership 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:11.050 that she couldn't fill herself, and he stepped 00:08:11.050 --> 00:08:13.269 right into it. And what did that actually do 00:08:13.269 --> 00:08:16.779 for him? It launched his entire career. It was 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.620 his entry point into being a teacher of teachers. 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:22.639 It allowed him to step out of the isolated classroom 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.220 and become a central resource for the entire 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:27.759 school. He wasn't just Gary, the new teacher 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.139 anymore. He was the guy who knew how to run the 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:33.559 new program. So he essentially used her big idea 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.139 or her lack of execution skills as a Trojan horse. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:40.620 to build his own authority. Precisely. And this 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:42.799 is the transactional mindset we really need to 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:44.700 talk about. I think a lot of young professionals 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:46.899 feel like they're being exploited when a boss 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:50.320 hands them a big messy project. And, to be totally 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.899 fair, they are being used for their labor. Yeah, 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:55.220 that's just a fact. But Ackerman argues that 00:08:55.220 --> 00:08:57.940 you can completely flip the script. You can use 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.269 them for their platform. It's a trade. You give 00:09:00.269 --> 00:09:02.190 them the completed project so they look really 00:09:02.190 --> 00:09:04.990 good to their bosses. In exchange, they become 00:09:04.990 --> 00:09:08.169 your advocate. And that advocacy is incredibly 00:09:08.169 --> 00:09:10.669 powerful. Ackerman points out that when you follow 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:13.070 through on a big idea person's vision, you make 00:09:13.070 --> 00:09:15.570 them look like a genius. You validate their existence 00:09:15.570 --> 00:09:18.169 in the company. In return, they will promote 00:09:18.169 --> 00:09:21.340 your work forever. Because it serves them. Exactly. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:24.179 They'll say, look at what we did. And sure, they 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:26.019 take some credit, but everyone in the building 00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:28.340 knows who did the actual heavy lifting. You get 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:31.179 a champion in the organization. There's another 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:33.759 layer to this 1988 story that I found really 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:36.659 liberating when reading the piece. Ackerman mentions 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:38.960 that he wasn't even that interested in drug and 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:42.269 alcohol prevention. Yes. This is such a critical 00:09:42.269 --> 00:09:44.929 point for the early career folks listening. We 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:48.110 are constantly told to follow our passion. Everything 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:51.370 has to be purpose -driven. But Ackerman was not 00:09:51.370 --> 00:09:53.830 passionate about this topic. He writes that he 00:09:53.830 --> 00:09:56.269 wasn't heavily invested in it. It wasn't where 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:58.990 he wanted to end up 20 years later. So why do 00:09:58.990 --> 00:10:00.730 it? I mean, if you don't care about the topic, 00:10:00.889 --> 00:10:03.639 isn't it just drudgery? No, because the topic 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:05.879 was just the vehicle. He was learning how to 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.059 drive. He was learning how to manage a massive 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:11.059 project, how to train adults, how to navigate 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:14.360 complex school politics. Once the grant funding 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:17.580 expired, the project was quietly dropped. It 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:20.659 vanished. But the skills he learned, the reputation 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:23.720 he built, those stayed with him forever. That 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:25.960 is a really healthy reframing. I think we put 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.919 so much pressure on our first few projects to 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.519 be these definitive statements of who we are. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.980 Like, this is my legacy. But Ackerman is saying, 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:38.200 no, this is just practice. It is entirely low 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:40.460 stakes. Think about it. If the drug prevention 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:43.700 program failed, well, it was the AP's idea anyway. 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.279 You were just following orders. If it succeeded, 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:50.309 Ackerman is the star executioner. It's a high 00:10:50.309 --> 00:10:53.629 reward, relatively low risk scenario for the 00:10:53.629 --> 00:10:55.929 newbie. But this brings us to the slightly darker 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:58.690 side of the realization. As you're doing this 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:00.529 work, as you're building the rocket for someone 00:11:00.529 --> 00:11:03.029 else, you start to notice things. Ackerman has 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:04.850 this quote in the article that really stopped 00:11:04.850 --> 00:11:07.529 me in my tracks. It's almost noir. Oh, I know 00:11:07.529 --> 00:11:09.149 the exact one you mean. When you get into the 00:11:09.149 --> 00:11:11.169 real world, you discover who has lied to you 00:11:11.169 --> 00:11:13.600 and about what they have lied. It gave me chills. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:15.779 It sounds like something a greedy detective says 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:18.179 while standing in the rain. What is he really 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.820 getting at there? What are the lies? It is a 00:11:20.820 --> 00:11:22.840 heavy statement. I think the lie he is referring 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:25.639 to is the myth of competence at the top. When 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:27.700 we are students or when we are just entering 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:30.460 the workforce, we have this ingrained assumption 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:32.740 that the people in charge actually have a plan. 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:35.580 We assume that if someone has a fancy title like 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:39.220 director or principal or VP, they know how to 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:42.549 execute. We assume meritocracy is real and functioning 00:11:42.549 --> 00:11:44.850 perfectly. And then you meet the idea guy. And 00:11:44.850 --> 00:11:47.370 then you meet the idea guy who literally cannot 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:50.529 open a PDF. Or who thinks strategy means writing 00:11:50.529 --> 00:11:52.870 a vague buzzword on a whiteboard, and you realize, 00:11:53.070 --> 00:11:56.350 oh, there is no plan. They are entirely making 00:11:56.350 --> 00:11:58.669 it up. They are relying on people like me to 00:11:58.669 --> 00:12:00.990 figure it out for them. That sounds incredibly 00:12:00.990 --> 00:12:03.960 disillusioning. Just crushing. It is. But Ackerman 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:05.940 frames it as a necessary disillusionment. It 00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:08.039 is the exact moment you grow up professionally. 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:10.440 He says that during the time you are executing 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:13.039 someone else's project, you are simultaneously 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.299 discovering what actually matters to you. You 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:18.100 are seeing the system for what it is, imperfect, 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.519 messy, highly human. So while you're grinding 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.340 away on the AP's project, you're quietly taking 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:27.279 notes. You're thinking, OK, I see how they messed 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:30.509 up that budget. I definitely won't do that. I 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:32.909 see how they alienated that team. I won't do 00:12:32.909 --> 00:12:36.169 that. Exactly. You are actively building your 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:38.769 own professional identity in the shadow of their 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:42.429 project. You are learning the actual truth about 00:12:42.429 --> 00:12:44.929 how work gets done, which is often very different 00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:47.690 from how they teach in college. And that leads 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:50.210 directly to the final stage of this evolution, 00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:53.490 the graduation. Outgrowing the idea person. Shushed. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.740 Ackerman writes, if you find a big idea person 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:58.879 who uses you to build your own project, you also 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:00.779 learn lessons that make you never need them again. 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:03.700 That is the ultimate power move. You reach a 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:05.399 point where you simply don't need their vision 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:07.559 because you have your own vision, and crucially, 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:09.639 you have the skills to execute it. You become 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:11.879 the visionary doer. You become the total package. 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.139 And once you reach that level, the idea guy actually 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:17.700 becomes obsolete. In fact, they transition from 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:20.600 a stepping stone back to an annoyance. And that 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.840 perfectly explains why the current day Ackerman. 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:27.019 Dr. Ackerman, the established expert, says a 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:29.799 flat no to the colleague at the door. It's not 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:31.799 just that he's busy, it's that the relationship 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:34.460 no longer makes any logical sense. Correct. He 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:36.360 writes, you will be too busy implementing your 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.179 own ideas to bother with others again. The transactional 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:42.360 value is totally gone. You don't need their platform. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.679 You have built your own. You don't need their 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.929 advocacy. Your work speaks for itself now. So 00:13:47.929 --> 00:13:50.730 it is really a life cycle. You start as the apprentice. 00:13:51.269 --> 00:13:53.409 You need the idea guy to give you a sandbox to 00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:55.710 play in. You use them to learn the ropes. Then 00:13:55.710 --> 00:13:57.710 you become the journeyman. You realize the idea 00:13:57.710 --> 00:14:00.129 guy is actually quite limited. You see the lies. 00:14:00.830 --> 00:14:03.850 And finally, you become the master. You shut 00:14:03.850 --> 00:14:05.590 the door because you are actually getting real 00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:08.340 work done. That is a perfect summary of the dynamic. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.639 And I think it completely reframes the intense 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.480 frustration we feel when that knock comes on 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:15.320 the door. Instead of just feeling annoyed, you 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:17.620 can look at that person and ask a deeply strategic 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:20.419 question. Where am I on the timeline? Right. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:23.659 Is this person a vampire or are they a stepping 00:14:23.659 --> 00:14:26.639 stone? Exactly. If you are established, if you 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.000 have your own projects and funding, the answer 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:32.600 is you are a vampire. Go away. But if you are 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.019 new, if you are desperately looking for your 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:38.600 big break, maybe the answer is come on in. Tell 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:42.080 me all about this great idea because I am going 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:44.600 to use it to build my resume. It takes all the 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:46.480 emotion right out of it. It's not about being 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.720 a pushover or a victim. It's about coldly calculating. 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:52.370 the return on investment of your labor. And that 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:54.850 is often how the best, most resilient careers 00:14:54.850 --> 00:14:58.110 are built. Not through some grand, perfect plan 00:14:58.110 --> 00:14:59.789 where you only work on things you were deeply 00:14:59.789 --> 00:15:02.090 passionate about from day one, but by seizing 00:15:02.090 --> 00:15:04.830 a messy opportunity like a boring drug prevention 00:15:04.830 --> 00:15:08.009 curriculum in 1988 and wringing every single 00:15:08.009 --> 00:15:11.009 drop of value out of it. Ackerman's 1988 experience 00:15:11.009 --> 00:15:13.350 wasn't glamorous at all. He admits he doesn't 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:15.610 even remember if the AP was particularly visionary. 00:15:16.470 --> 00:15:19.019 But it worked. It launched a trajectory that 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:21.059 led to him becoming a leading voice in his field. 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:24.259 Not bad for a project he wasn't heavily invested 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:27.059 in. And it serves as a great reminder that sometimes 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:30.460 sheer competence is far more important than passion, 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:34.210 especially early on. Competence buys you the 00:15:34.210 --> 00:15:37.330 freedom to pursue passion later. I love that 00:15:37.330 --> 00:15:40.710 phrasing. Competence buys you freedom. So let's 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:42.870 bring this all back to you, the listener. We 00:15:42.870 --> 00:15:44.929 have all got that colleague. We have all faced 00:15:44.929 --> 00:15:47.809 the big idea trap. But now we actually have a 00:15:47.809 --> 00:15:50.110 framework to handle it. We do. And I think the 00:15:50.110 --> 00:15:52.649 key takeaway here is to be brutally honest with 00:15:52.649 --> 00:15:55.049 yourself about your own capabilities. What do 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:57.289 you mean by that specifically? Well, the real 00:15:57.289 --> 00:15:59.690 danger is thinking you are the master when you 00:15:59.690 --> 00:16:02.539 are still very much the apprentice. If you turn 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:04.559 down the idea guy because you think you're way 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.899 too good for the grunt work but you have no actual 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:09.860 portfolio to back that up, you might just be 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:11.980 stalling your own growth. That's a tough pill 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:15.120 to swallow. So don't be a snob until you've actually 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.940 earned the right to be a snob. Essentially, yes. 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:21.679 Earn your cynicism. Ackerman earned his no. He 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.600 spent decades in the fringes. He built the systems. 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.639 He trained the teachers. So when he says I'm 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:30.059 busy, he really means it. If you say I'm busy 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:31.779 just because you don't want to do the hard work, 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.440 well, you might be missing the boat entirely. 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:37.000 So before we wrap up this deep dive, I want to 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.879 leave you with a bit of a challenge. A self audit, 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:42.220 if you will. Let's do it. Think about your current 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:45.000 role right now. Think about your resume. Do you 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.279 have that big win yet? Do you have that project 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.419 where you can confidently point to it and say 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:52.080 I took that from zero to one? I built that. And 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:54.519 if the honest answer is no, then I want you to 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:56.919 look around your office tomorrow. Find the idea 00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:59.779 guy. Find the person who is loud, energetic, 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:02.179 and completely incapable of executing anything. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.420 Go knock on their door. Run towards the danger. 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.500 Seriously. Ask them, what are you working on? 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:09.400 Do you need help making that real? It might be 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.680 painful. It will probably be annoying. But it 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.779 might be the absolute fastest way to get to where 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.329 you want to go. And if the answer is yes, if 00:17:16.329 --> 00:17:18.650 you already have those wins, if you are already 00:17:18.650 --> 00:17:21.109 driving your own ship, then feel free to lock 00:17:21.109 --> 00:17:23.329 the door, put on your noise canceling headphones, 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:26.730 and completely ignore that knock. You have earned 00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:29.549 it. You definitely have. And chances are you're 00:17:29.549 --> 00:17:32.450 way too busy actually working to listen to their 00:17:32.450 --> 00:17:36.170 pitch anyway. Dr. Gary Ackerman's insights really 00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:38.809 turned a daily workplace annoyance into a master 00:17:38.809 --> 00:17:41.430 class in career strategy. It has been a real 00:17:41.430 --> 00:17:43.650 pleasure unpacking this with you today. Likewise. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:45.839 It's always fun to look behind the curtain of 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.859 the real world. Thanks for diving deep with us. 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:49.359 We will see you on the next one.