Episode · Harvard Business ReviewNew
The Explainer: Solving Problems by Opening with the Worst Idea Imaginable
12 Oct 2026 · 4 min
Episode notes
The Explainer: Solving Problems by Starting with the Worst Idea Possible 11 Jun 2019 --- Sometimes wrong thinking can lead to the right answer. There are many creative tools a designer uses to think differently, but none is more counter-intuitive than “wrong thinking,” also called reverse thinking. Wrong thinking is when you intentionally think of the worst idea possible — the exact opposite of the accepted or logical solution, ideas that can get you laughed at or even fired — and work back from those to find new ways of solving old problems.…
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