You might have noticed that one of my favorite questions to ask entrepreneurs in my interviews is, “What did the first version of your product look like?”

I like hearing how even the most sophisticated software usually started with something that the founder is still a little embarrassed by.

I think this excerpt from Scott Adams’ recent Wall Street Journal essay explains why that ugly start often leads to a quality product.

I spent some time working in the television industry, and I learned a technique that writers use. It’s called “the bad version.” When you feel that a plot solution exists, but you can’t yet imagine it, you describe instead a bad version that has no purpose other than stimulating the other writers to imagine a better version.

For example, if your character is stuck on an island, the bad version of his escape might involve monkeys crafting a helicopter out of palm fronds and coconuts. That story idea is obviously bad, but it might stimulate you to think in terms of other engineering solutions, or other monkey-related solutions. The first step in thinking of an idea that will work is to stop fixating on ideas that won’t. The bad version of an idea moves your mind to a new vantage point.

[photo credit: I use stock photos by Fotolia]