How to Work for a Boss Who Has a New Idea Every 5 Minutes

如何为每 5 分钟就有新想法的老板工作

You walk down the hall, head spinning — unsure of how to stabilize yourself.

你走下大厅，头晕目眩——不知道如何让自己稳定下来。

You went into your one-on-one thinking you had clarity on your current priorities. You just left it wondering how in the world you would squeeze in the five new ideas your boss just dreamed up. You cringe when you have the premonition that an email with the subject line “another thought” might be waiting for you once you reach your desk.

你开始一对一谈话时，以为自己已经清楚了当前的优先事项。但谈话结束后，你却在想，究竟该如何挤出时间去完成老板刚刚冒出的五个新想法。当你预感到一回到办公桌，一封主题为“另一个想法”的邮件就等着你时，你不禁有些畏缩。

Visionary bosses can be exciting, fun, and innovative. They can also feel overwhelming when there’s no way that you can keep up with all of their creative ideas.

有远见的老板可能令人兴奋、有趣且富有创新精神。但当你无法跟上他们所有的创意时，他们也会感到不知所措。

As a time management coach, I’ve coached many creative idea people and coached many people managed by creative idea people. Based on that experience, here are some helpful strategies for managing up when your boss gets distracted by too many creative ideas.

作为一名时间管理教练，我指导过很多有创意的人，也指导过很多被创意人管理的人。基于这些经验，以下是一些当你的老板被太多创意想法分散注意力时，如何进行向上管理的实用策略。

If you find yourself overwhelmed by your boss’s creative ideas, most likely you are more of an action-oriented person. If you’re not careful, you can start to develop a judgmental attitude such as, “I’m the only one who gets anything done and contributes value around here.” And this attitude can cause you to lose respect for the insight that your boss brings.

如果你发现自己被老板的创意所淹没，那么你很可能是一个更注重行动的人。如果你不小心，可能会开始形成一种评判的态度，比如“我是唯一一个在这里完成工作并贡献价值的人。”这种态度会让你不再尊重老板带来的洞见。

Avoid that trap and instead choose to focus on mutual respect. It may be true that you’re better at executing on tasks, which is a strength that you bring to the table. It also may be true that your boss is better at helping determine what should be done and keeping the team from getting stale. Instead of seeing the differences as bad, it’s most helpful to look at them as complementary assets you both bring to the team.

避开这个陷阱，选择注重相互尊重。你或许确实更擅长执行任务，这是你的优势。你的老板或许更擅长帮助确定应该做什么，并防止团队变得僵化。与其将差异视为坏事，不如将其视为你们双方都能为团队带来的互补资产。

If you’re a very action-focused person, you may automatically assume that when your boss shares an idea that she expects you to do something about it. But often that’s not the case. Individuals with creative minds can think of 100 new ideas before breakfast. There’s no possible way that they — or anyone — could keep up with them.

如果你是一个非常注重行动的人，你可能会自然而然地认为，当你的老板分享一个想法时，她希望你采取行动。但通常情况并非如此。富有创造力的人可以在早餐前想出100个新点子。他们——或者任何人——都不可能跟上他们的步伐。

Some of my coaching clients have found the best solution is to keep an email folder or another “parking lot” of ideas that their bosses come up with that aren’t related to current projects and priorities. They might say something in a meeting like, “That’s a great idea,” or send an email reply saying, “I’ll take a look.” Then add the idea to the parking lot without feeling compelled to take any further action.

我辅导过的一些客户发现，最好的解决办法是把老板提出的与当前项目和优先事项无关的想法，放在一个电子邮件文件夹或另一个“停车场”里。他们可能会在会议上说些什么，比如“这是一个好主意”，或者回复邮件说“我会看看”。然后，把这个想法放到“停车场”里，而不必感到非得采取任何进一步的行动。

Often times your boss just wants to share something that’s on her mind and is satisfied with acknowledgement of the idea. The general rule in these situations is that you wait until the idea is brought up a few more times before doing anything, otherwise you can just let it sit. (Of note, this may not work in all situations so be aware of your boss’s expectations. If she expects every idea be pursued, you’ll need to use the expectation negotiation strategies below.) But this parking lot strategy does work in many cases without any substantial consequence.

很多时候，你的老板只是想分享她心中的想法，并且对这个想法的认可就很满意了。在这种情况下，一般的规则是，等到这个想法被提出几次后再采取行动，否则你可以就此作罢。（需要注意的是，这种方法并非在所有情况下都有效，所以要注意你老板的期望。如果她希望每个想法都能得到落实，你就需要使用下面的期望谈判策略。）但这种“停车场策略”在很多情况下确实有效，而且不会造成任何实质性后果。

Individuals with a bent toward the creative often have difficulty estimating how long activities will take. If you find that your boss seriously wants to pursue a new idea but that it would take a substantial amount of hours, help her understand the cost. For example you could lay out that it will take 20 hours of staff time and 15 hours of contractor time to follow through on the idea. Is she comfortable with that allocation of hours and budget?

有创意的人通常很难估算活动需要多长时间。如果你发现你的老板真心想实现一个新想法，但需要花费大量时间，请帮助她了解成本。例如，你可以说明，要实现这个想法，需要员工投入20个小时，承包商投入15个小时。她对这样的时间和预算分配满意吗？

When you detail out the time commitment, at first your boss may be shocked because she assumed it took much less time. And then she’ll likely say, “Oh, never mind. It’s not that important.” By explaining the cost, it takes the pressure off of you to make things work and on to her to give the idea the resources it needs.

当你详细列出时间投入时，你的老板一开始可能会感到震惊，因为她以为这花费的时间要少得多。然后她可能会说：“哦，没关系。这没那么重要。” 通过解释成本，你不必再承担完成任务的压力，而只需承担她为这个想法提供所需资源的压力。

If your boss tends to get distracted with new ideas, she likely has difficulty setting priorities. Instead of shutting down an idea that she’s excited about implementing, re-direct your attention back to the team’s monthly or quarterly plan. Ask questions such as: How do you see this new idea fitting in with our current goals? If we take on this new initiative, we will need to drop or delay another, which one would you be willing to de-prioritize? Is this idea something that we need to implement now or could it be considered for next year?

如果你的老板容易被新想法分散注意力，那么她很可能难以确定优先事项。与其拒绝她热衷于实施的想法，不如将注意力重新集中到团队的月度或季度计划上。你可以问一些问题，例如：你认为这个新想法与我们目前的目标契合度如何？如果我们实施这项新计划，就需要放弃或推迟其他计划，你愿意降低哪个计划的优先级？这个想法是我们现在需要实施的，还是可以留到明年再考虑？

By laying out how pursuing a new idea will have an impact on other priorities, you can help your boss assess what makes the most sense from a strategic perspective.

通过阐述追求新想法将如何影响其他优先事项，你可以帮助你的老板从战略角度评估什么是最有意义的。

Working with a boss who has a constant flow of creative ideas can be stimulating — or debilitating. By using these four strategies, you can leverage your boss’s creative strengths while minimizing the stress and frustration of trying to keep up.

与一位创意源源不断的老板共事，可能会令人振奋，也可能令人精疲力竭。运用这四个策略，你既能充分利用老板的创造力，又能最大程度地减少因努力跟上他的创意而产生的压力和挫败感。