Regarding Ground Rules For Collaboration:

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When I spend time working with other writers we often seem to work by unspoken ground rules. These rules seem to create themselves when creative people are working together. They might be tacit parts of our artmaking tradition or culture, because I see them in action among all different kinds of artists and creators. I imagine these ground rules I’ve noticed could have some relevance to collaborations in business as well as art, especially in a business whose “givens” are disappearing fast, or changing by the day.

Ground Rules for Collaboration:

Try it – The most important rule is “try it.” Audition every idea. Play it out loud and listen. Suspend judgement initially. Make sure to listen before deciding or objecting or proposing alternates.

Don’t worry whether it’s been done before – Doesn’t matter if it’s been “done before” or “sounds similar” to something else; that similarity will likely fade away during the process, and pointing out similarities only serves to keep the collaborators in a state of judgement rather than open creativity. Originality will take care of itself.

Find the good in it – I don’t like this idea; why does the other person like this idea? Where is this idea coming from? If it isn’t the best expression, it still might come from an important impulse. Maybe your collaborator is onto something great and you haven’t yet seen it.

Explanations are unhelpful – If your collaborator doesn’t like the idea, don’t try to explain it away. You will waste time having meta-conversations, and that time is better spent generating ideas.

Propose alternate ideas – If the idea doesn’t fly when you try it, don’t explain why: come up with a better idea that solves the same problem/fills the same space. Three very powerful words in a collaboration: “How about this?” Four words to use after them: “Or, how about this?” Then you can A-B the two (or more) ideas.

The word “no” is rarely necessary – “No” is a last resort, and not necessary if you’ve tried the rules above. A bad idea will peter out on its own, once examined. A good idea can be killed by a too-early “no.”