No idea is a bad idea #45 #cong18

A single idea holds an enormity of potential for change and progress. Even a seemingly insignificant one. Great ideas are often built on the back of other people’s ideas. Some ideas don’t ever see the light of day. They can be withheld or they can be shared and judged. This feedback may be helpful or unhelpful, guided or misguided, well-intended or ill-considered, encouraging or discouraging. A multitude of factors that can shape an idea after it’s birthed. It should be given a chance to breed before it’s dismissed. The act of ideating is fundamental for our evolution as a society.

1. A single idea, no matter how small, holds an enormity of potential for change and progress.
2. The greater the mind’s exposure to experiences and different sources of knowledge, the more opportunity for interesting connections to form and the greater the propensity of ideas.
3. The life cycle of an idea is very much dependant on how it’s perceived by the originator and by others.
4. An idea will only gain traction when it’s recognised as valuable by others.

Zanya is founder/ director of @artizancreative, a creative digital agency that helps companies with similar values discover new ways to see and be seen. She signs up for pretty much any experience that will expose her to something she hasn’t seen or heard or done before. She loses track of time when she’s painting, eating good food, comedy improvising or cuddling her children.

You can follow Zanya on Twitter or contact her by email

By Zanya Dahl

Imagine if we lived in a world without ideas? There would be no imagination. No revelations. No transformation. Just a vacuum of dormant sameness.

A single idea, no matter how small, holds an enormity of potential for change and progress.

Ideas occur when a connection is made between two different thoughts. A little spark of creative energy that ignites a new possibility. Having an “aha moment” reaffirms the active nature of our brains, our ability to make connections and form something new and interesting out of the random collection of thoughts swirling through our minds. Regardless of how short or long lived, the explicit moment of having an idea feels energising and empowering. If the originator really believes in the uniqueness and value of the idea, the birth of that brainchild can feel exhilarating.

The life cycle of an idea is very much dependant on how it’s perceived by the originator and by others. We’re all guilty of judging ideas as “good” or “bad”. But is an idea ever bad? Sure it may seem far-fetched, it may have been done before, it may be selfish or unrealistic or misguided but is it ever really unworthy or regrettable? In its raw state, the value and potential of an idea is difficult to measure. How it will manifest itself is hard to predict – obstacles and setbacks can occur that change the journey of an idea.

I see each idea as a trigger. A stepping stone. A little spark of creative thinking that can grow, merge, adapt or be rejected for something better. A collection of ideas, no matter how small or apparently meaningless can contribute to a new and bigger idea or even spawn a multitude of other ideas. Even if they’re never acted upon, they still fire our imagination and raise our capacity for connected thinking. Having ideas of our own enables us to assimilate and build on others’ ideas more easily.
Many of the great ideas in this world have piggybacked on the shoulders of others whose ideas may not have been executed properly or successfully at the time.
We often mistakenly judge the value of an idea based on whether it’s easy or hard to implement, whether it’s relatable, understandable, beneficial or impactful enough.

An idea might manifest itself as an outfit you choose to wear to a fancy dress party or it might be a solution to a national issue that requires systemic behavioural change. In terms of impact, we might value the latter as a “better idea”. However, the idea for the fancy dress party could be considered “clever, brilliant and inspiring” by the party guests. The “nobler” idea for national change may not actually bring the desired results. Regardless of the ambition or scale of an idea, they reinforce our ability as humans to connect with ourselves and with the world around us. It’s an innate ability we all share but need to nurture more.

The cross-pollination of knowledge has been encouraged and facilitated by the worldwide growth of co-working spaces designed to nurture collaborative ideation. The greater the mind’s exposure to experiences and different sources of knowledge, the more opportunity for interesting connections to form and the greater the propensity of ideas.

Imagine if humankind collectively applied its creative energy to collaboratively ideate for the greater good rather than personal gain. Imagine the possibilities. What can we do as a race to reverse the damage that’s been done to our planet and our way of living over the last 100 years?

Any ideas?