The terrible, no good, very bad idea

Who likes sharing bad ideas? I think if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no one.?

I had a really bad idea last week. I sent it in a note to a colleague and immediately wanted to swallow it back up like it never existed.?

Then I remembered this…

Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them. -Seth Godin

We need more bad ideas. We don’t need people sitting on their thoughts until the next brilliant idea bubbles up. We need people to share.

But we will only do that if we’re comfortable and celebrated for the idea in the first place.?

Here’s how…

• Embrace a ‘no bad ideas’ policy.
• Celebrate ideas that don’t work. Make failure okay.
• Create good brainstorming moments, where more ideas, not great ideas, is the goal.
• Ask why – understanding where ideas come from will lead to better ones.
• Reward creativity – the unconventional, etc.

Time for a coffee, thanks to an ancient Ethiopian goat herder who saw his goats had unusual energy after eating berries on a tree and thought, “You know what I should do? Brew a drink from these!”?

All thanks to a good bad idea!