In business and in life, we pursue the good stuff and champion people who are known for their good ideas. But when we place too strong an emphasis on just the good, we may neglect to consider the bad ones. In design and in brainstorming, deliberately seeking out bad ideas is a powerful way to unlock creativity. Generating bad ideas can reveal our assumptions about the difference between bad and good, and often seemingly bad ideas turn out to be good ones. Jotly and Cow Clicker were jokes/parodies (e.g., not good ideas) that have been surprisingly successful. Neil Young and Crazy Horse have covered folk songs. An action blockbuster features a US president swinging a silver axe against vampires. In this talk, I explore how opening up the bad idea valve can lead unexpectedly to the kind of success we aim for with our good ideas.

1. The Power
of Bad Ideas
@steveportigal
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Bad ideas are not
meh ideas
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bad ideas in the
creative process
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Brainstorms
Pace of idea
generation
Addressing
needs with
low-hanging
fruit
Time
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

5. Don‟t forget your second
Click to edit Master title style wind
Pace of idea
generation
Obvious but
Addressing Innovative
necessary,
needs with
problem-solving, Breakthrough
low-hanging
need-filling, low-
hanging fruit Wacky
fruit
Time
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bridging the humps
Pace of idea
generation
Addressing Innovative
needs with Breakthrough
low-hanging
Wacky
fruit
Time
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Why edit Master bad idea?
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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That edit Master title Could Be Useful
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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When bad ideas
go good
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Breaking Bad Ideas
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Cow edit Master
Wired:ofThe Curse of Cow Clicker
The Power Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Jotly
Appsurd: In Silicon Valley, It's Hard to Make a Joke
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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A joke in one title style
Appsurd: In Silicon Valley, It's Hard to Make a Joke
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577404284117534706.html Portigal
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#›

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Rock „n Master the next
Appsurd: In Silicon Valley, It's Hard to Make a Joke
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577404284117534706.html Portigal
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#›

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Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Appsurd: In Silicon Valley, It's Hard to Make a Joke
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577404284117534706.html Portigal
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#›

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Bad and Good Food Ideas
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bad ideas stay bad
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bad is judged by the marketplace
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bad is judged by the marketplace
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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(Bad) Idea
Thinking
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Bad ideas ignite style imagination
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

22. Big Think‟s Dangerous
Click to edit Master title style Ideas
"These ideas may at
first seem shocking
or counter-intuitive—
but they are worth
our attention, even if
we end up rejecting
them."
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Satire and social commentary
A Modest Proposal is
the classic example of
a deliberately bad idea
used to critique
circumstances where
such an idea could
even be articulated.
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Context Master title
Open to surprises
Let your audience tell you
Engineers say “if it works, it‟s
not a stupid idea” (check this)
Consider your context in order
to assess
• Art
• Social change
• Entertainment
• $
• Technology
• Etc.
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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The sublime
and the
ridiculous are
often so
nearly
related, that
it is difficult
to class them
separately.
Thomas Paine,
The Age of
Reason, 1795
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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It’s such a fine line between stupid
and clever!
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› Portigal

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Thank you!
Portigal Consulting @steveportigal
www.portigal.com steve@portigal.com
The Power of Bad Ideas ‹#› +1-415-894-2001
Portigal