The Good Thing About Bad Ideas

"You can only be as good as you dare to be bad." - John Barrymore
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One of the inevitable things you will hear at a brainstorming session is something like "there are no bad ideas." Well, guess what? There are plenty of bad ideas. Nazism, for instance. Arena football. Bow ties.
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What well-meaning "keep hope alive" brainstorming aficionados really mean is this: Even bad ideas can lead to good ideas if the idea originators are committed enough to extract the meaning from the "bad." It happens all the time.

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Even diamonds begin as coal.
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The key for aspiring innovators? To find the value in what seems to be a "bad idea" and then use that extracted value as a catalyst for further exploration. The following technique, shows you how to do this. It's a particularly effective method for naysaying, skeptical groups to use. It's also a hoot and a great way to make boring brainstorming sessions come alive.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Bring a challenge, question, or problem to mind.
2. Conjure up a really bad idea in response to it.
3. Tell another person (or team) about your bad idea.
4. The other person (or team) thinks of something redeemable about your bad idea -- and tells you what it is.
5. Using this redeemable essence as a catalyst, you brainstorm new ideas, solutions, or possibilities that can actually DO something with.