Here’s a good idea: Stop letting your co-workers take credit for your good ideas.
It happens, you know. Against all odds, you come up with a new way to handle a long-standing problem and what happens? Your best friend in the office takes your idea and runs with it. Specifically, they run to your manager and present your breakthrough brainstorm as their own.
You know what comes next. Your idea becomes a success, and your work friend becomes a hero. You are left in the dust, unheralded, unrewarded and very, very unhappy.
Such is the sad story recounted in “The Real Reason Your Ideas Get Stolen at Work -— and How to Stop It,” a Nilofer Merchant article in Fast Company.
The victim in this case, Alex, had devised a “zany and creative marketing idea for her firm.” After spending “a full six months” to develop and refine the idea, Alex was ready to present her brainstorm to management.
“And then the unthinkable happened,” writes Merchant. One of Alex’s co-workers shared the idea with the CEO and the CMO. “While he didn’t exactly say he’d done the work himself,” Alex explained, “how he talked about it made it seem like it was all his.”
(I probably don’t have to tell you that the villain in the piece was “a PR guy.” Telling your ideas to someone in PR is like asking a bank robber to hold your wallet.)
Is there any way to stop co-worker thievery? A firing squad comes to mind or, maybe, mandatory attendance at a week-long, out-of-office HR training session on AI integration and the outboarding process. Equally scary, or even more so, is the really bad idea of standing up for yourself, taking your rightful credit in a face-to-face with your manager, which Alex did.
Spoiler alert! Alex’s manager blew her off.
“When you’re creative,” he told her, “people will steal your ideas. You should just get used to that fact.”
It’s true, of course, but not very helpful. In fact, it’s quite harmful. By asking your manager to examine their moral compass, you risk resentment, as they and you realize simultaneously that their compass is broken and has been for years. Plus, you have identified yourself as a person who knows the value of their work and will stand up for themselves. In other words, a troublemaker.
Fortunately, there are safer and saner ways to protect your best ideas and also your career. The following are my ideas, but don’t worry. You’re free to steal them.
No. 1: Choose Who You Share
Your Ideas With.
If you must talk about your idea to someone else, choose carefully. Someone in marketing is a good bet, since they look like they listen, but really don’t. Bouncing off your idea on a co-worker in IT is also a safe choice. Their connection to reality is not all that strong, as you will remember when they showed up a week late for a scheduled appointment.
The best choice is someone who doesn’t work for your company. Traditionally, bartenders are good listeners, but I recommend baristas at Starbucks. Anyone who can make a Venti iced Caramel Macchiato with one-third whole milk, one-third almond milk, one-third soy milk, double vanilla, caramel wall and extra espresso will surely be able to appreciate your great idea.
No. 2: Share Your Bad Ideas First.
Is your co-worker the type of person who would steal your idea? Go ahead and share. Just make sure the idea you share is really bad. Let them run to your manager with the brilliant inspiration of keeping employees from congregating in the break room, gossiping and wasting time, by initiating coffee delivery by drones. Or write a proposal for earning extra income by renting out the executive conference room as an Airbnb.
If your manager has any sense at all, they’ll reject the idea and the person who suggested it. But be careful. Considering your manager, they could love the bad idea and the terrible person who stole it and you’ll be in even worse shape than you are now.
No. 3: Stop Thinking.
Where has thinking got you? I rest my case. Can’t turn off your brain? The fact you chose to read this column instead of doing something productive suggests that you are completely capable of not thinking. It’s the best way to keep from having ideas that will only get you in trouble.
No thinking at work? Now that’s a great idea.
Bob Goldman was an advertising executive at a Fortune 500 company. He offers a virtual shoulder to cry on at info@creators.com.
Copyright 2026 Creators Syndicate Inc.