Generate Ideas

Bad Idea Brainstorm

When to use it

Use this template to get unstuck creatively by brainstorming the worst solutions to your challenge.

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Completed Bad Idea Brainstorm Template Example

What’s the purpose

Finding solutions to a burning problem can feel like a lot of pressure. By simply flipping the expectation to come up with the worst ideas, team members can feel more confident and creative as they work towards great ideas.

How to do it

Paste the How Might We question that you are focusing on in step one.
In step two, brainstorm the worst ideas you can think of to solve the problem. Think of the most useless solutions or ideas that will make the problem worse.
Now, looking at your bad ideas, are there any you can turn into a good idea? Try to flip them and see if the reverse version might offer a solution to your problem.
Finally, vote on the best ideas and see which one comes out on top!

Helpful tips

A diverse group of people will help you generate the best (worst) ideas in a brainstorming session.
Time box your brainstorm to keep momentum going.

Using this method in your day-to-day work

Sometimes a regular brainstorm can feel really challenging. This template provide a technique to help you think about your problem differently and use alternative ways to arrive at good solutions. When you’re trying to come up with ideas to solve a problem and are feeling a bit stuck, get a group of colleagues together and try out a Bad Idea Brainstorm. We're certain you'll end up with some good ones ;-)

Learning Lab

The lesson behind this method

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