W.I.L.A


Can I be so bold as to create my own business acronym? What an apropos way to start this, because the acronym I want to create applies to that very question.

Let me re-start by, somewhat apologetically, confessing that I'm one of those distracting types who gets an idea, feels really passionate about it, thinks it will change the world and will offer it up for consideration. Over the years, I've learned to balance out the negative qualities that come with it: I try to focus on nuance, rather than chase novelty; I started keeping more ideas to myself and doing more to vet my own solutions before offering them. While I'm a work-in-progress, I will admit I do love sitting in a meeting where there all problems and no solutions. The gears that start spinning at full speed in my brain can cause such a strong buzzing that people will look at their phones, thinking they're getting a call.

One danger I learned long ago about getting so passionate about a new idea is that it can drown out others and put on blinders. The idea becomes your 'darling' flawless idea. I push myself to be skeptical of any new lightbulbs going off in my head and, in the event that I do start suggesting my idea, I let others know that I welcome their skepticism.

And so, that gets me back to my original question: Can I be so bold as to create my own business acronym? I'm calling it: WILA. A "Working Idea / Low Attachment." It's precisely for those moments when I have an idea, maybe a rough unpolished thought that I want to bounce around and not have my excitement be confused for conviction. New ideas are exciting, they're fun to explore but that doesn't mean they're always good ideas. I'm sure the first person who tried dividing by zero was really excited to see what would happen...

When I toss out an idea, I want to share that it's a WILA. Stress test it, criticize it, show my why it's bad. We'll either find a way to make it better, or I'll find my excitement quickly turns to embarrassment. I can handle it.

I worked a fair bit before settling on the exact words for the acronym. This whole idea spawns off the idea of "strongly held beliefs, held loosely." I like the sentiment, but I don't think "held loosely" really conveys the right sentiment.

WILA is, itself, a WILA. I'm excited to share it with you, but please know: it's just a working idea, and there's low attachment.

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