I participated in this exercise with a seminar speaker recently. It’s fun and surprisingly eye-opening.

Thinking about your business, your organization, or any unit of your life, write a list of the main things that make it what is.

Example: If you own a restaurant: We make food. We have menus. We charge for food. We have tables and chairs.

Next to each item, write a brainstorm list of what you could do if that item was reversed.

Same restaurant example:

• We don’t make food… People bring in their own food. The customers cook the food. A different guest chef makes the food each week.
• We don’t have menus… Every entree is a surprise. The chef decides what will be served based on that day’s market. The servers memorize a clever way of selecting food.
• We don’t charge for food… We charge by the hour for the table space. We charge an annual membership fee. Everything is a suggested donation.
• We don’t have tables and chairs… We use bleachers, like stadium seating. People sit in seats that can be driven around like bumper cars. [Your idea here.]

I love how this exercise brings out ideas that are normally hidden behind the obvious answers.