Rule: See It Through
Being a community advocate/evanglist/supporter at this point in business means that you’re going to constantly be running into brick walls. Colleagues, community members, you name it; someone is always telling you that your ideas are crazy.
That means it’s that much more important to stick to your guns – See It Through. There’s two components of this issue:
Believe in your ideas
This is a "basic business" rule, but it’s even more important when talking about community work. When you’re getting push back from colleagues, make sure that you believe in your ideas. If you don’t, then ask yourself why you’re trying to sell it in the first place. If you do, then do what it takes to push it forward.
This device is a great idea, but imagine taking the idea to the Sony execs and suggesting that the next generation PSP should be completely and totally hackable. As Jack Welch says:
Don’t quit too early
Once you’ve gotten people to agree to your ideas, make sure that you don’t quit too early. .Getting someone to say yes in the early stages is one thing. Getting them to follow through to end is another thing. Don’t assume your community projects are finalized until you’re setting in the After Action Review meeting.
