Another way to think about gap analysis/planning

 I joke that I might not be a good planner, but I'm great at gap analysis.  I meant to read this Financial Times column last week, "The secret to finding the best idea ever? First think about the absolute worst  When looking for a business breakthrough, a design innovation, or a flash of artistic insight, it’s smart to think in reverse," but I forgot.

The title puts gap analysis in perspective.  There are so many bad ideas and implementation, how can I not excel at gap analysis?  

But it's also about brainstorming.  People make important, interesting points, or share ideas.  I build on them.  And it's two-way.  People improve and extend ideas I put out there too.

From the article:

Creativity gurus have termed this approach looking for the “worst possible idea”. When looking for a business breakthrough, a design innovation or a flash of artistic insight, it can be hard to think of much when challenged to dream up a good idea. Far easier, less intimidating and more fun to write down a list of terrible ideas, then see what those terrible ideas suggest once you turn them on their heads. 

Sometimes the worst-idea exercise is little more than a warm-up, getting the imaginative sparks flying before the real creative work begins. Sometimes, however, focusing on what makes an idea bad shines the spotlight on what might make an idea good. If the bad idea is to make a product look clumsy and ugly, that suggests it’s worth paying more attention to the product’s elegance and beauty. If the bad idea is to ship the product with bewildering instructions, the good idea is to hire an editor to hone the instructions. 

... So let’s hear it for wilful contrarianism in the search for inspiration. Sometimes looking for a bad idea gets the creative juices flowing. Sometimes a bad idea perfectly highlights what would make an idea good. And sometimes, the bad idea is actually the best idea of all.