Reverse Brainstorming

Plus de détails

Samsung

par Tatiana Kim

Software Project Management

par Hend Khalid

Innovation at L’Oréal

par Kateryna Didyk

FIFA World Cup

par Armando Sousa

Reverse Brainstorming

Its cons

Participants can find difficulty to flip negative comments to positive solutions

It can take longer than the typical brainstorming

The possibility of getting out of the track without getting good facilitation

An example of reverse brainstorming

Explaining how to apply an action

OR, there may be simple ways to improve quality control so that customers receive the high quality product they bought—on time!

It is time to assign the task of checking into that system to be sure it’s really achieving the goals you’ve set

Having already a quality control system, but it still has to be worked on

The real solutions that can be flipped from the awful ideas (Positive actions)

Train all customers service reps to provide accurate, friendly information and provide them with the tools they need to resolve customer complaints

Implement a quality control process to ensure that all materials, products, and instructions are of the highest quality

Set up a distribution system that makes it possible to put each order in the mail within 24 hours

Institute a policy to double check that each order is correct in every aspect

The answers of the negative ideas

Train customer service representatives to give poor advice or incorrect information about your products or policies

Ensure that all instructions are written in very tiny letters in Swahili

SubMake the products impossible to use or put together

Make products out of crappy material that falls apart on the first use

Misrepresent products in your catalog, so customers are unpleasantly surprised by every purchase

Charge more for the product than is stated in your catalogue

Take so long to send the order that the customer no longer needs it

Send only half the order

Send the wrong item in the wrong size and wrong color

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 problem is

The staff has had no blinding insights

catalog sales business is receiving an unusual number of returned items

The steps

Review each positive idea which are realistic

When it is done, start assign tasks and and create an action plan

Listing the most terrible ideas and working together to flip them

Example: (collect rotten app reviews) will be (collect positive app reviews)

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

Dividing the participants into groups, each one in the group will act as a facilitator

Making a group of facilitators to make sure that all of them have a chance to speak

Collecting the worst ideas in a flip chart or whiteboard

Demonstrating how the negative answers can lead to positive results.

Giving some examples

Explaining the concept of reverse brainstorming and providing an example of the process

then, collect some answers

If there is no responses, jump with one

Its pros

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

It can relieve stress and frustration

Revealing some important issues and challenges

It can lead to innovative and interesting results

Sometimes, finding negatives is easier than finding the positive

An engaging and fun process

engaging participants who feel disempowered or disconnected from the process

It will decrease the effect of typical brainstorming that left the group bored or pressured by "perform"

It is a great way to get participants past apathy and actively engaged

What is it?

Reverse brainstorming is a great tool for re-energising a flagging brainstorming process

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?)

Negative thoughts will acknowledge the group about what is not working, so they will have the tools to plan for success

It is negative brainstorming which turns typical brainstorming upside down

when can it be used?

Project become difficult, and lack of enthusiasm

Participants are unable to come up with alternative ideas

The product is not successful as it should be

Subtopic

Certain ideas have taken root and cannot be taken further

Some are more reticent than others

Having no me to add

The need to predict the client experience

Understanding what are the negatives and how to reverse them

being familiar to a challenge to generate ideas quickly

Employees are new to a function