the worst lightning talk in history - using antiproblems. mark dalgarno
TRANSCRIPT
Getting Creative
Luke Hohmann Innovation Games: Creating Breakthrough Products Through Collaborative Play Addison-Wesley Professional © 2006
Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers O'Reilly Media, Inc. ©2010
Stuck for ideas? - try the anti-problem!
• Have you ever run out of ideas?
• Have you ever lost interest or motivation?
• Then try the anti-problem!
Photo Credit: Mr. Flibble – idrinkleadpaint.com
Using the Anti-Problem
• Take the problem you're stuck trying to solve,
• Turn it into its opposite form,
• Think of ideas to solve that opposite problem,
• Discuss those ideas to see what new insights emerge.
Trying to solve the anti-problem brings fresh thinking and new insights into your original problem.
Problem - Transforming the business while keeping it running
• Software team struggling to balance priorities
• Had tried a few things but nobody completely happy
Other uses for the anti-problem
• Project kickoff How could we really screw up this project?
• Conference opening What would make a terrible conference experience?
Benefits I've seen
• New ideas emerge
• Can show you haven't solved a problem you thought you had
• Checks problem understanding, gives alignment
• Reframes the problem
• Surfaces differences of opinion & strong feelings
• It's fun
Recap
• Take the problem you're stuck trying to solve,
• Turn it into its opposite form,
• Think of ideas to solve that opposite problem,
• Discuss those ideas to see what new insights emerge.
Trying to solve the anti-problem brings fresh thinking and new insights into your original problem.
Stuck for Anti-Problems?
• Think about your office environment. Is there anything more you could do to stifle your colleague's creativity?
• How could you change your product support process to make your customers want to burn down your office?
• Finally, think about your website's checkout process. How could you get visitors to abandon their shopping cart more quickly and in even greater numbers?
The Worst Lightning Talk in History? • Too many bullet points on one slide:
Yes, this one.
• Tweeting banned during talk: No, encouraged.
• Too many different points covered: Probably.
• Excessive self promotion: Talk to me later!
• Used a tiny font and weird colours: Yes.
• Used the same slide more than once: Yes. Did you notice?
• Digressed: Not too much.
• Used terrible clip art: Yes.
• Included a non working software demo: No.
• Spoke like a cattle auctioneer: Fast, but nowhere near.
• Drunk and Incoherent: Maybe later.
• Talk overran: It just has.