This is a technique that turns a problem ‘upside down’ or ‘back to front’.
For example instead of asking:
“How can we prevent infections in the hospital?”
we ask instead:
“What would we do if we wanted to increase infections in the hospital?”
This ‘opposite’ approach encourages ideas that can then be prevented.
What to do next:
– Decide whether and when this technique could most profitably be used as a creative thinking ‘game’ in your own organisation or business.
– To have mischievous fun, and provoke great ideas, imagine how you might ‘sabotage’ a rival business or organisation with small and subtle problems that could have a big negative effect.