When we become enamored with our ideas, which is a good thing because ideas go nowhere without a passionate advocate, we often have a hard time picking up the signals of what other people think of our ideas, which is a not-so helpful-thing. Missing the cues is especially prevalent when we’re talking with executives who have the power to approve, fund, block, or kill the idea.  The passion for what we want clouds our rational mind, preventing us from hearing feedback that can help us figure out the next best step.

This chart lists common executive (and Bureaucratic Black Belt) responses to our ideas – and what they really mean.