This week I caught up with a lawyer friend. We touch base regularly to catch up. I tell him what I’m working on and thinking about (personally and professionally), and he does the same.

During our recent chat, I shared some early ideas that weren’t fully fleshed out. My expectation was that he’d ask a few questions and we’d move on to what was going on in his world. To my surprise, he quickly caught on to what I was thinking and agreed with part of my hypothesis. In fact, not only did he get it, he pointed me to a little-known database that could provide valuable information to help me execute this idea. He walked me through how to navigate the database and understand the information returned as results.

This meeting was a reminder to share your ideas with people. Doesn’t matter if they’re rough or half-baked; share them anyway. You never know what someone knows or who someone knows that could help you. There’s way more to gain from sharing than not sharing your ideas.