Now what?

That’s why most designers make awful team members. It’s why, when the biz dev guy says “this is how our startup is going to make money,” our first inclination is to tear the living shit out of the idea.

But what designers need to understand is that nobody likes a negative blocker, and when we attack an idea, it feels personal to the guy with the idea, and invariably leads to us being left out, which is that last thing we want.

Fortunately the solution is simple: just force yourself to come up with an alternate solution. It’s a great mental exercise - think to yourself, “what’s the solution I want to see?” If I can’t come up with one, I won’t say anything. Better to be quiet and see how things progress than to be the negative blocker guy.