Reverse Brainstorming
when can it be used?
Employees are new to a function
being familiar to a challenge to generate ideas quickly
Understanding what are the negatives and how to reverse them
The need to predict the client experience
Having no me to add
Some are more reticent than others
Certain ideas have taken root and cannot be taken further
The product is not successful as it should be
Subtopic
Participants are unable to come up with alternative ideas
Project become difficult, and lack of enthusiasm
What is it?
It is negative brainstorming which turns typical brainstorming upside down
Negative thoughts will acknowledge the group about what is not working, so they will have the tools to plan for success
Instead of (How can we improve customer service?)
Ask(How can we make customer service so bad that every one of our customers walks away from our product or service?)
Reverse brainstorming is a great tool for re-energising a flagging brainstorming process
Its pros
An engaging and fun process
It is a great way to get participants past apathy and actively engaged
It will decrease the effect of typical brainstorming that left the group bored or pressured by "perform"
engaging participants who feel disempowered or disconnected from the process
Sometimes, finding negatives is easier than finding the positive
It can lead to innovative and interesting results
Revealing some important issues and challenges
It can relieve stress and frustration
It is a process of discovery
It gives the participants a chance to raise issues that can be invisible to management but are obstacles for people in trenches
The steps
Explaining the concept of reverse brainstorming and providing an example of the process
If there is no responses, jump with one
then, collect some answers
Demonstrating how the negative answers can lead to positive results.
Giving some examples
Dividing the participants into groups, each one in the group will act as a facilitator
Collecting the worst ideas in a flip chart or whiteboard
Making a group of facilitators to make sure that all of them have a chance to speak
Collecting the flip charts of all the groups and give them a chance to review the brainstormed ideas
There are some common problems and ideas among the groups
Listing the most terrible ideas and working together to flip them
Example: (collect rotten app reviews) will be (collect positive app reviews)
Review each positive idea which are realistic
When it is done, start assign tasks and and create an action plan
An example of reverse brainstorming
The problem is
catalog sales business is receiving an unusual number of returned items
The staff has had no blinding insights
The question that has to be asked
What’s the best way to guarantee that every product sold will be sent back to us with an angry note inside?
The answers of the negative ideas
Send the wrong item in the wrong size and wrong color
Send only half the order
Take so long to send the order that the customer no longer needs it
Charge more for the product than is stated in your catalogue
Misrepresent products in your catalog, so customers are unpleasantly surprised by every purchase
Make products out of crappy material that falls apart on the first use
SubMake the products impossible to use or put together
Ensure that all instructions are written in very tiny letters in Swahili
Train customer service representatives to give poor advice or incorrect information about your products or policies
The real solutions that can be flipped from the awful ideas (Positive actions)
Institute a policy to double check that each order is correct in every aspect
Set up a distribution system that makes it possible to put each order in the mail within 24 hours
Implement a quality control process to ensure that all materials, products, and instructions are of the highest quality
Train all customers service reps to provide accurate, friendly information and provide them with the tools they need to resolve customer complaints
Explaining how to apply an action
Having already a quality control system, but it still has to be worked on
It is time to assign the task of checking into that system to be sure it’s really achieving the goals you’ve set
OR, there may be simple ways to improve quality control so that customers receive the high quality product they bought—on time!
Its cons
The possibility of getting out of the track without getting good facilitation
It can take longer than the typical brainstorming
Participants can find difficulty to flip negative comments to positive solutions