Words means different things to different people. I heard about a daughter who told her dad that a twig had fallen on the family car, but that “twig” was an inch thick and left a dent.
The word “idea” is (shock-alert) more varied than that. And it can cause people real misunderstandings.
See, some people really like, “throwing around ideas”. But some people think that means coming up with new ideas, brainstorming, imagination. Other people think that means we get existing values, structures, programs and we tear them apart, assess them, dash them against the rocks.
So, one sentence, two very different emotional responses.
The manager-tools guys note this too. They point out that if you ask “does anyone have any ideas about this”, some people will make suggestions about lunch, others will make suggestions about setting a whole new direction for the organisation.
The point is, “ideas” is such a vague term that, if you’re going to use it, you need to give some control or limits or boundaries to specify what type of “ideas” you’re looking for.