Problem framingRiskPerspective ~15 min · 3 steps

Inversion

Consider the opposite of what you want to happen. A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.

Overview

Inversion is an incredibly powerful thinking technique that changes your perspective. It asks you to envision what the opposite of your desired outcome would look like, so you can account for those things.

There's a wonderful quote by Alan Kay that sums up why inversion is so powerful: "A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points."

What inversion does is cause you to look at things from a totally different angle. It only takes a few minutes and can have a radical impact on your ideas and outcomes.

The Two Versions of Inversion

There are actually two versions of inversion — the negative and the positive.

Negative Inversion is about considering the opposite of what you want. To adopt Agile, you'd think about all the things that would discourage its adoption — that reveals what would stop you from being successful. It's what some call "avoiding stupidity", and anything that helps me avoid doing stupid things is worth the time.

Positive Inversion is slightly different. You start with your desired future and think about all the things that have to be true to achieve it. If you wanted to improve your organization's product maturity, you'd ask what would all need to be true to be a truly mature product organization.

The worksheet

Pick negative or positive. Negative: describe the future you don't want, then how to prevent it. Positive: describe the future you want, then what must be true.

Talk it through

How to do it

Start with the future state and work backwards.

For the negative version, start with a version of the future you don't want, then think about all the ways you could ensure that future becomes a reality — those are the things you focus on preventing.

For the positive version, think about the desired future and come up with all the things that would have to be true for it to become a reality, then figure out how to address each one.

Thought Starters

Consider opposites. Spend or Save; Grow or Shrink; Adopt or Reject.

Think about the stakeholders. Who has to change their behavior?

Achieving the undesirable future. Really think through all the things that would help you achieve that undesirable future — those are the things to look out for and plan to address.