Reverse
Reverse states a problem from the other way around i.e. changes a positive issue into a negative one and vice versa.
Uses of the method
- Helps to see issues from many vantage points other than currently accepted wisdom
Benefits
- Valuable method to ensure that all the relevant issues have been considered
- Fast and ultra-low cost
- Can be used by both individual analysts and teams
Disadvantages
- May be incomplete if not used with other methods or iterations do not go deep enough.
Steps to complete
- Reverse the issue
- Look for things others aren't doing
- Then invent solutions that are the opposite of those being pursued today
- Change your perspective through standing in a different place
- Turn your assumptions upside down, backwards and inside-out. Stretch or shrink the thinking, squeeze it or expand it, grow it or reduce it, personalize it or de-personalize it etc.
- Describe how victory could be turned into defeat and what a better solution might look like
- Repeat by by turning a defeat into a victory
- Look for breakthrough innovations, incremental innovations, new venture innovations and new business models
- Capture unique insight into new ways of seeing that can be utilized by the organization. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
- What conclusions can we draw from the exercise(s)?
- How might the future be different?
- How does A affect B?
- What is likely to remain the same or change significantly?
- What are the likely outcomes?
- What and who will likely shape our future?
- Where could we be most affected by change?
- What might we do about it?
- What don't we know that we need to know?
- What should we do now, today?
- Why do we care?
- When should we aim to meet on this?
- Finish by noting your next steps. Next steps could include a further round of iteration, a recommendation on how to get the answers or use of other research and methods such as 'Starburst' to create more vantage points on the issue.
Collaboration
This method and your response can be shared with other members or kept private using the 'Privacy' field and through the 'Tag', 'Report' and 'Forum' functionalities. Use 'Tag' and/or 'Report' to aggregate your analyzes, or add a 'Forum' to ask others where they agree/disagree and encourage them to make their own analysis from their unique vantage point.
Click the 'Invite tab to send invitations to other members or non-members (colleagues, external experts etc.) to ask for their input. You can whether or not you want anonymous responses. These can be viewed and exported within the Responses tab.
Further reference
Contact us
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