Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)

Most every new innovative idea has a fuzzy front-end. The idea may have potential, at least in someone's mind, but it also likely has "holes" in it.  Will it really work? What about this, what about that?
If we were to score this new idea, from 0 to 9, where would it be? Turns out, NASA and the European Commission created a well-vetted method for scoring new ideas based on the stage of technological progress ... 0 being conceptual, 9 meaning the idea is out there and doing well in the world.

Are We Shooting Down Good Ideas?

1. You know whether or not an idea is good based who proposed it.
2. You observe from a distance rather than being lead down a path to the idea. (a.k.a. The Sniper)
3. You believe every idea is improved with your input.
4. Listing the top 10 ideas from your organization this year, half or more are your own.
5. Brainstorming means narrowing down to the best idea, instead of hearing all of them.
6. All ideas must be proven.
7. You only want BIG ideas.
8. You have no effective mechanisms to foster, collect, review, and implement ideas.
9. Your competition is your main source of ideas.
10. No matter how much you've talked about ideas, collected them, praised them, in the end you don't use them. (Like a maimed duck, you let them wander off and die.)

[Thank you, Dustin Staiger]