Page 43 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

34 THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BAD IDEA

Of course, a good idea, poorly executed, can also do a lot of dam-
age. And a bad idea that’s well executed can... no, I don’t think so.
Basically, if we can have both good ideas and good execution, why
would we ever settle for bad ideas or bad execution?
The good thing about bad ideas is that they so often put themselves
out of their own misery. Die, bad idea. Die.
So, no harm done, right?
Wrong.
Exhibit A: the Edsel.

Yes, the product died (and perhaps not soon enough). But the idea
of the Edsel lives on. That’s the whole point here.
Because even if the idea dies or you’re smart enough to kill it your-
self, the aftermath of “Whose idea was it, anyway?” can linger on
indefinitely.

Similarly to the timeline of a great idea, a bad idea, while taking rel-
atively little time to conceive and execute, can have ramifications for
years and years and years.

Consider an “ouch” followed by an “ouch” and so on and so on to
the nth degree.