
Best Idea Wins - joeyespo
http://awealthofcommonsense.com/2017/12/best-idea-wins/
======
eeks
I'm sorry to have to rain on OP's parade, but this is wishful thinking.

First and foremost because "best" is highly subjective and will not be
interpreted the same way depending on whom discuss the idea. In practice, "the
idea of the guy that has decision power" wins. Or, in a more democratic setup,
"the idea that makes consensus" wins.

As an example, take the Seinfeld joke described in the article. It is assumed
that the joke was included because it was inherently good and everyone agreed
to use it. But if you listen to the podcast carefully, it was actually
included because Larry David found it funny and vetted it. Had he not liked
it, it would not have made the score.

Same goes in technology. "Best idea" from a technological or scientific
standpoint rarely wins. Many factor ranging from financial to political weigh
in the final decision and what gets implemented is often subpar when looked
through the technologist lenses.

~~~
prorsum
Cranston didn't suggest anything major that would require a budget discussion
or a technical change about the scene. The recipe was the same, he just spiced
up the meal. On the second part, the author continues with Youtube in the same
way, spicing up the Internet to get people more entertained.

It is the culture that allows people to "spice up" an idea what makes the
difference. Such small changes can bring high value with very little effort,
which is referred as "mastering the best that others have figured out". "Best
idea" here is not something that would require political maneuver or more
resource.

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imh
People here are reacting to the headline. The point doesn't seem to be that
the best idea _does_ win, but that the best idea _should_ win. It's about
listening to other people's ideas.

>As Charlie Munger once said, “I believe in the discipline of mastering the
best that other people have figured out. I don’t believe in just sitting down
and trying to dream it all up yourself. Nobody’s that smart.”

It really is a discipline to hear and prioritize other people's ideas. Our
egos are big and we have our own ideas going. Putting ourselves aside when we
hear a better idea is hard. Fostering environments where that happens is even
harder.

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jstimpfle
To state the obvious, you can't listen to every idea. At least not all the
time. That would be very uneffective.

It's better to build some stereotypes which you revisit from time to time, and
build your network of people who you trust from a pool of people that passed
this stereotypes "filter".

Of course a good idea can come from everywhere, but I don't think Cranston
went to routinely ask the lightworkers, cleaning personnel, or secretaries for
good comedy ideas, after that. He was still more likely to get good input from
the people who specialize in comedy.

~~~
daveFNbuck
When a lighting guy gives you a comedy idea, many people would tell him to
keep to lighting and leave the comedy to the comedians. Cranston's point is
that by not using a stereotype filter to ignore the lighting guy he ended up
with a better scene.

He doesn't have to seek out advice from the lighting guy, he just has to be in
a culture where the lighting guy feels comfortable sharing if he happens to
have a good idea.

~~~
jstimpfle
However, more generally, if everybody wants to share ideas with you all the
time, you _have_ to apply a filter. It's just that in this particular
situation, there was no need, and no polite way, to apply a filter.

That in the end he ended up with a good idea is just nice.

~~~
daveFNbuck
There was an extremely easy polite way to apply the filter. Just don't use the
idea because it came from a lighting guy.

~~~
jstimpfle
That's not "applying a filter", though. The time listening is already spent.
(But yeah, if it isn't immediately clear that it's a good idea, I'm sure there
is less incentive for a comedian to invest the time to try and understand it).

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V2hLe0ThslzRaV2
It's not the best idea, it's the last "good" idea used.

For example, Google may not be the last search engine, nor may it be the best
search engine, but for the average person in the US, it's the last "good"
search engine they have used.

~~~
boffinism
Read the article. It's not, despite the title, claiming that the best idea
wins as a generalisation about what products/companies succeed.

The article is about the importance of creating a culture where the best ideas
are adopted, regardless of who/where they came from.

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Thespian2
Folks are (rightly) focusing on the descriptor "best." Best needs a specified
metric, or it's meaningless. This always annoys me in internet
discussions/arguments about "the best X" where nobody specifies a criterion
for "best."

The best tool to drive in a nail is a hammer. The best tool to drive in a
screw is a screwdriver. Neither one is generically "best" without context.

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sercand
I think not the best idea but best executed idea wins.

