How To Turn Bad Ideas Into Good Ideas

Torres argues that many good ideas begin as seemingly infeasible or bad ideas, and that their value often emerges through hard work and reframing. She proposes evaluating ideas first against the team's vision and current goal, while deliberately counteracting the brain's tendency to criticize by searching for what is good and how an idea could be made to work. Because groups evaluate ideas better than individuals, she describes several collective methods, including limited-vote idea markets, rank-ordering, and open discussion. She closes by stressing procedural justice: stating evaluation criteria up front and sticking to them so that people accept when their ideas aren't selected. The piece matters because it offers a practical, inclusive way for product teams to handle the flood of ideas and reduce the burden of saying no.

01Key takeaways

• Many bad-looking ideas become good ideas with deliberate work, so don't dismiss them quickly.
• Filter every idea first by consistency with your vision and progress toward your current goal.
• Actively ask what's good about an idea and how it could be made to work before criticizing it.
• Involve groups in evaluation, since diverse perspectives surface better merit and better outcomes.
• Use limited votes, rank-ordering, or facilitated discussion to compare ideas systematically.
• Publish evaluation criteria in advance and apply them consistently to keep people engaged even when their ideas are rejected.

02Key sections

Start with vision and goal filters

Each idea should first be checked for consistency with the team's vision and whether it moves the team toward its current goal. These are the primary filters, applied without over-restricting.

Counteract the instinct to criticize

Because people naturally see flaws first, evaluators should deliberately ask what is good about an idea, how it could work, and how it could be combined with others.

Evaluate ideas as a group

Groups bring varied perspectives and make better judgments than individuals, so inclusive evaluation yields better outcomes.

Compare collective evaluation techniques

Limited-vote idea markets encourage thoughtful trade-offs, rank-ordering forces comparisons but scales poorly, and open discussion surfaces new criteria but needs skilled facilitation.

Make the process fair and transparent

Clear, published evaluation criteria create procedural justice, so people accept rejections when the process is consistently applied.

03From the post

“What’s a good idea look like? Do you think you’ll recognize it when you see it? Are you sure? Most good ideas start out as bad ideas. They are infeasible. They look like they should be on your “never do” list. The engineers will tell you they are”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.