Doing the Opposite

Greetings.  On a recent drive, our daughter Carly and I were amused by a radio commercial for what sounded like the worst new TV show ever.  "How do they come up with these ideas?" I asked her, sensing that a media savvy 13-year-old was way more likely to have insight about today's popular culture than a father born in a time and galaxy far away.  "Oh, it's simple," she said quite matter-of-factly…

"They just take the idea from a really good show and do the opposite."

Now that's a cool idea I thought.  Not for creating bad ideas, but for creating good ones.  Why not take a really bad idea and do the opposite of it? 

Let's face it.  Some things in business don't work out as we planned.  In fact, some things turn out poorly.  A product or service that misses the mark.  A proposal that confuses the prospect.  A customer service improvement that makes the customer's life more difficult.  A software update that is decidedly unfriendly to users.  A new program or "benefit" that de-motivates people.  But instead of trying desperately to remove these bad experiences from our collective memory, why not embrace them as teachable moments and use them as the starting point for new and innovative thinking about how to be remarkable in meeting the needs of those we serve?

To get you and the geniuses you work with in the right mood, you might enjoy this brief clip from Seinfeld.  And you might also enjoy the chapter in Surrounded by Geniuses that's all about what companies and organizations can learn from watching reruns of this award-winning TV show. 

We win in business and in life when we learn from our mistakes, and when we dare ourselves to do the opposite of what we imagined in the first place.  It might be one more way to unlock more compelling value.

Cheers!