What if...?

what if... we are all creative geniuses?

Photo by johnhain on Pixabay

The ‘what if…?’ exercise works well when you are stuck and cannot come up with ideas that are out of the ordinary. All you have to do is ask a ‘what if…?’ and answer it without worrying about practicality.

Let’s take some examples:

What if we could…?

• make plastic that could compost like organic materials?

• design a fun CT scanner for children?

• have unlimited clean energy?

• convert CO2 into usable fuel?

• have emission free cooling?

• build an energy positive hotel?

• take an elevator to the moon?

Now, you might say, “I’m not a scientist, an engineer or an inventor.” - Btw, how are you so certain about this? - Fair enough. Apply ‘what if…?’ to your work or to one of your processes (if you are stuck, use the SWOT Reimagined or SCAMPER tool).

• What if you…?

• work with a laptop but don’t want to sit all day?

• hired service staff with speech & hearing-disability for your restaurant?

What if…? helps to free us of the constraints that our assumptions and experiences have placed on our thinking. Nothing is off-limits.

“…the what ifs are as boundless as the stars.”
― Sally Gardner, Maggot Moon