How to keep plans light
I love small, light plans. They are quick to start, easy to adjust, and painless to ditch when if they fail. The lighter you can keep them, the faster you learn whether they warrant more weight.
And if they are small and fast enough, they feel exciting and fun. Like you aren't even working!
But even in healthy, collaborative teams, valuable small ideas often lose their lift in planning.
The scenario
You suggest a simple starting point: “I can put together a tiny first version so we can try this.”
Someone responds enthusiastically: “Great! And maybe we can also measure how people respond.”
Then another: “Yes! And we should build a structure around it so we can experiment with variations.”
🤦
They mean well! And they are not wrong! Those are totally reasonable suggestions.
But that light idea you floated now has a few people tugging at it. What would have been a quick task now takes some research, coordination, and a few extra decisions. It's feeling heavier.
This happens all the time. We weigh plans down because we care. Small plan floats up, people like it and grab on to help, and it loses the lightness that made it valuable in the first place.
When people see something promising, they want to help make it real. It isn't sabotage. It's an expression of enthusiasm! But each addition—however well meaning—adds weight. The collective intention is good, but the collective result is inertia.
Bigger teams amplify this tendency. Everyone's job is to contribute, so ideas become a group project before they even get off the ground. The risk is that nothing light ever gets off the ground.
How to keep ideas in the air
I've found a few tricks to protect light plans:
1. Name the lightness
State clearly what “just enough” looks like.
“I’m imagining the smallest possible version just to see what happens.”
2. Maintain altitude
When layers get added on, acknowledge and appreciate them, then bring the idea back to its simple form.
"Totally! Once we get this tiny version rolling, that's a great next step."
3. Make it cute or oddly specific
If an idea initially vibes as humble, silly, and harmless, people are less eager to jump in. But they are happy to root for it!
"We'll call it Brent's super dumb prototype for now."
(by the way, dorkification and weirdifying are great ways to make work disarming and fun; I should write more about this!)
Stay light my friend
Lightweight projects are quick to start, easy to adjust, and can be extremely high leverage. The lighter you can keep them, the faster you learn whether they warrant more weight.
So when someone floats a new idea, resist the urge to grab on. Help it stay aloft for a bit. As the trucker signs say, "LET ER' DRIFT"
