Category: Creative Thinking

This technique is often used to get to the root of a problem, but it can also discover insights that lead to innovative thinking. Start with a problem or solution, then keep asking ‘why?’ to see where it leads you.

The creative process is iterative, and by getting to the minimum it can open us up to pivot in relevant and interesting ways. What’s the minimum needed to achieve the objective? What’s the most efficient, quickest, and cheapest option you can think of?

Pretend you’ve already achieved success. What would the newspaper headline or article say? This will spur you to think of big, newsworthy ideas. Explaining how and why it worked so well forces you to consider the steps to success.

Consider the flow-on effects: what might the consequences of the problem or solution entail? What are the variables at play? How might the family of your target audience react? How could time, complications, or feedback loops have influence?

Consider the impartial perspective. We’re often blind to our own assumptions, and our perceptions are colored by our insider understanding. What might someone with no knowledge or bias think?

We value things that are in short supply. Is there a way to create demand or at least the perception of it? How might limitations be beneficial? If there isn’t a ready-made market or audience can we create one?

A critical mass is a self-sustaining chain reaction. What could we do to create a viral effect whereby the idea spreads itself? How might we make it remarkable or useful enough to become its own amplifier?

As tribal creatures, we want validation before we act. How can we create and communicate social buy-in? Could the crowd itself contribute in some way? Is there a way to provide a social feedback loop, testimonials, or other social validation?

Define the base principles to reason more clearly. Question what’s actually fundamental to bring the problem (and solution) into sharper relief. What unnecessary assumptions are being made? What if we had to make everything from scratch?

About 80% of the output tends to come from 20% of the input. How might we optimise by focussing on the most relevant factors? How can we design for the primary audience or most valuable outcome?