Show Them the Ugly: Embracing Imperfection to Drive Innovation
I use this statement regularly and each time a new person hears it, I get the "what the hell is this guy talking about" look. We all know the look...
Show Them the Ugly is a simple statement and doesn't necessarily mean you need to show ugliness; rather it is a statement to shift a person's mind when faced with the work in front of them.
Let's start with what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean:
Do no homework or research
Take no pride in what you are doing
Don't make any effort towards the outcome
What Show Them the Ugly means is
Get out of your own way
Get people invested in your idea
Don't try to be perfect; expect changes
Take some risks; make some statements
Prevent wasted effort and spark innovation
Spend a bit of time shaping content, but not a great deal
Simplify the first step and stopping thinking about step 10
Work to rapidly get a prototype (MVP) of your deliverable visible quickly
I use this approach on myself, my leaders and teams. It is easy to get trapped in trying to solve for the entirety of an opportunity, ask or outcome when all we really need to do is solve for step one; however, this is a hard mental shift to make.
Micro-Example: 4 Weeks Lost
Recently, I was invited to a meeting where a production issue required immediate intervention. The team responded and put a quick fix in place then shifted to developing a longer term solution. The team spent a month on a longer term solution plan and showed it to us when it was "ready".
Within the first few slides and 20 minutes of questions and misunderstanding, it was clear, this team had been focused on the wrong deliverables. They didn't know that and felt frustrated and deflated. Some of that frustration showed up with some defensive demeanor.
We paused the conversation and opened the conversation with resetting and clarifying expectations and alignment for how we would approach this differently. Leaning into this, I guided them team down the path of Show Them the Ugly and what this looks like for our realignment and to get back on schedule. And while the team was initially deflated, they saw the silver lining. Even though four weeks was lost, it was better to now than well into implementing a solution that wasn't solving the stated problem.
Now, the team is meeting two times each week with clear deliverables and by the end of each week, they are committed to sharing updates that include current activities, ideas, challenges and necessary leadership support asks. This model shifted how the team approached the problem at hand and increased collaborative insights that were just under the surface.
Micro-Example: Creating an Idea Storm
One of my senior leaders looked at how our teams delivered services to our stakeholders. His idea went against 'norms' and there was concern on how the audience my respond to some bold statements and this caused the leader to delay the conversation.
Stepping over that risk hurdle, he owned his idea and showed them the reality of how we were operating to expectations (real and assumed) and how it didn't serve their outcomes. During the meeting, this risky idea was quickly supported by senior leadership and spurred several actions upstream and downstream in the organization.
Here's the catch. It was still in early stage framing. Yes, he had done some analysis, shaped some general statements to the new approach and field tested the idea with some people before taking it forward. Since then, entire teams redesigned how they provide services and adopted frameworks to integrate as part of prioritizing focus. And for the most part, it hasn't required any additional development.
The idea itself, with a small bit of legwork, was all that was needed to generate the outcomes and value. Often we spend a great deal of time developing highly detailed plans and actions that never become reality.
Start with an idea, rough it up, and share it. Take the feedback and insights and do it again.
The next time you find yourself stalling for perfection, take the first step: jot down your rough concept and show it to your team or stakeholders. Let me know how it goes; I’d love to hear about your experience!
If you’d like more tips on bringing Show Them the Ugly into your team’s workflow, let’s connect. I help leaders and organizations practice rapid prototyping, embrace imperfection, and drive tangible results.
-- Casey
