How thinking about the worst possible way to do something can help inform the best possible way.

1. The worst lightning
talk in history
Mark Dalgarno SOFTWARE ACUMEN!
@MarkDalgarno

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Problem - Transforming the business while
keeping it running
• Software team struggling to
balance priorities
• Had tried a few things but
nobody completely happy

6. Anti-Problem - How can we make people in
the business really hate us?

7. Problem - How to deliver a great
lightning talk?

8. Anti-Problem - How to deliver the worst
lightning talk in history?

9. Problem - How to hire a great Personal
Assistant (PA)
Credit: http://tinyurl.com/pa-clipart

10. Anti-Problem - Hire the worst PA in
the world.

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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?

15. 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.