The Importance of Killing Ideas

I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up on a farm. 

Now, given our location in the heart of the Midwest, there’s a chance that you, the reader, did. 

And yet now, as an adult, my husband and I have taken some time to create what you might call an urban homestead. We have a substantial garden, and started raising some chickens and bunnies as well.

And as much as we love our feathered friends, we understand them to be more like livestock than pets. Meaning, if push comes to shove, and one was suffering or stopped producing eggs, we would, well, you know. 

If you have any farming experience, you know what I’m talking about. 

Sometimes the most compassionate thing you can do is cull the flock or the herd. 

Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon for dad or grandpa to take an animal out back and eliminate them peacefully.

All that to say, I believe marketers can learn a lot from farmers.

Hang with me here. Like most agencies, our team at the Fishbowl is consistently brainstorming, discussing, and meeting to come up with new ideas for our partners.

Everything from blog post topics, to using social media better, to campaign strategy—we discuss it all.

And while a lot of these strategic ideas take off and grow from an idea to implementation, not every single one is a winner. This is where we can learn from farmers. 

Sometimes the smartest thing to do is take an idea back behind the woodshed and kill it.

(Metaphorically, of course)

Now, the challenge often comes in when we marketers treat our ideas more like pets than livestock.

Farmers and ranchers understand that the animal, while important to care for, is still an object of utility. Once it doesn’t serve that purpose anymore, it becomes dead weight, sunk cost, lost time, etc.

Often, marketers become overly attached to our ideas. This isn’t uncommon in such a creative field, either. 

But we make the mistake of mixing up who we are, with what we create, and they’re simply not the same. 

Then, when the gears of the project start to grind, or the partner isn’t loving the idea, we take it as a personal affront. 

But it shouldn’t be. Just because a partner didn’t love that idea doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy the partnership.

So maybe you’re not in a creative field, but this may still apply. Knowing when to “kill” projects or ideas can save you a lot of lost time and money in any situation. 

The other reason we avoid eliminating ideas comes from scarcity. “But what if I don’t have another good strategy again?” This is just false. 

That’s simply thinking with a scarcity mindset. If you want to learn to shift from scarcity into abundance, read our past blog here.

As entrepreneurs and business owners, I promise you that new ideas are not rare—but sometimes we have to cut some things loose to make room for the good stuff.

Improving on the ability to reassess before pouring in more effort won’t make every idea a perfect match or a home-run, but it will ensure that the majority of your time is spent on efforts that actually produce results.

And after all, marketers and small business owners alike are all striving to cut down on unproductive time and spend time on the stuff that really matters.

If you’re looking to do the same, I’d encourage you to take some time this week to reassess. Conduct a project audit. 

Evaluate if there are some projects that have been pushed off and if so, figure out why. And if necessary, don’t be afraid to cull bad projects.

I can assure you that bigger and better ideas are often waiting just around the corner.