Co-creation sounds like a great idea. Free-flowing ideas, an emergent and unpredictable endpoint. What’s not to love?
A messy middle – when things are not clear since no one can predict the finish.
Here are a few things I’ve noticed:
Avoid setting timelines until you know what can be delivered and when. If you are in a rush, now is not the time.
If it feels like you are in a hierarchy you most probably are. Check that terms and conditions are not the way. The word, co-creation, for example.
Avoid groups that already have an end in mind. What’s actually happening then is people are messing about in the middle – that’s different.
Learn to make an offer instead. Try: “I’ve built this, I think we can do better.”
If you are ready to invest in your idea, and then have others break it down, then you are ready to co-create. Worry less about your idea and more about the conditions in which to do your best work.
If not, you are probably just messing about in the middle.