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What is Worst Possible Idea?
A reverse brainstorming technique that breaks through creative blocks by intentionally generating terrible ideas, then flipping them into brilliant solutions.
A reverse brainstorming technique that breaks through creative blocks by intentionally generating terrible ideas, then flipping them into brilliant solutions.
Worst Possible Idea is a reverse brainstorming technique that breaks through creative blocks by asking participants to intentionally generate terrible ideas, then flip them into brilliant solutions. This paradoxical approach removes fear of judgment and activates divergent thinking. The method works in two rounds: first, participants generate deliberately awful ideas. This removes the pressure of perfectionism and creates a playful, judgment-free environment. Then, in the second round, participants flip these terrible ideas into positive solutions by considering their opposites or extracting hidden insights. Developed by innovation consultancies, this method leverages psychological research showing that humor reduces stress hormones and enhances creative thinking. By permission to be "wrong," teams often break through mental blocks and discover unexpected solutions.
Asking for "bad" ideas removes perfectionism pressure
Generates laughter and lightens mood, making teams more creative
What NOT to do often illuminates the right path
Forces teams out of habitual thought patterns
Flipping terrible ideas often reveals unique solutions
Absurd ideas reveal potential problems to avoid
Worst Possible Idea works best for:
Breaking creative blocks when teams are stuck in conventional thinking
Risk identification-revealing what NOT to do through absurdity
Team building sessions needing humor and energy
Innovation challenges where safe ideas dominate and disruption is needed
Problem reframing-seeing challenges from completely new angles
Overcoming perfectionism that inhibits idea generation
Round 1 - Terrible Ideas: Participants generate the worst possible ideas or solutions to the challenge. Be creative in being terrible! The goal is to come up with intentionally awful, impractical, or absurd solutions.
Select an Idea: Choose one terrible idea from Round 1-either your own or someone else's-to flip in Round 2.
Round 2 - Flip the Ideas: Transform the terrible idea by writing its exact opposite or extracting positive insights. Ask: "What makes this idea terrible?" then do the opposite. The direct inverse often reveals brilliant solutions.
Review & Analyze: In the review stage, terrible ideas are paired with their flipped versions. Participants vote on the best flipped ideas and discuss how the transformation journey led to innovative solutions.
In Ideadrive, Worst Possible Idea sessions manage the two-round structure automatically: • Automatic Round Progression: The platform switches from Round 1 to Round 2 automatically when the timer reaches the halfway point • Visual Pairing: In the active session, terrible ideas (Round 1) are displayed with red styling, while flipped ideas (Round 2) appear in green • Parent-Child Linking: Flipped ideas are linked to their original terrible ideas, showing the transformation journey • Real-time Collaboration: See terrible and flipped ideas as they're generated by all participants • Paired Review: The review page displays terrible and flipped ideas side-by-side for easy comparison • Voting & Comments: Vote and comment on the most successful flipped ideas • Auto-save Protection: Ideas save automatically every 2 seconds, so your transformations are never lost The session runs for 16 minutes total (8 minutes per round) with a synchronized timer. Round 2 begins automatically, giving you time to select a terrible idea to flip. The platform clearly distinguishes between rounds visually, making it easy to understand which phase you're in.
Ideadrive is a modern, real-time collaborative ideation platform designed to help teams and individuals generate better ideas using proven creativity methods. Ideadrive combines structured ideation techniques with cutting-edge AI technology to make creative thinking more effective and accessible.
Whether you're a solo entrepreneur brainstorming your next feature, a small product team exploring new opportunities, or a creative agency running client workshops, Ideadrive provides the tools you need to run structured ideation sessions without the complexity of traditional facilitation.
Our platform supports 8+ different ideation methods, each optimized for specific types of challenges. From rapid brainstorming to systematic SCAMPER transformations, from visual Crazy 8s sketching to structured Perspective Hats analysis—Ideadrive gives you the right framework for your creative challenge.
Ideadrive includes two powerful AI features to enhance your ideation sessions:
Add AI teammates to your sessions who contribute fresh ideas, avoid repetition, and build on your team's suggestions in real-time.
After your session, get automated analysis including idea clustering, gap analysis, and an executive summary with actionable insights.
Embrace the absurd-the worse the terrible idea, the better! Don't hold back in Round 1
Be intentionally bad-permission to be "wrong" is liberating and unlocks creativity
In Round 2, think about opposites-what makes the terrible idea bad? Do the opposite
Select diverse terrible ideas-flip different types of bad ideas for varied solutions
Look for hidden insights-sometimes terrible ideas reveal important constraints or concerns
Have fun with it-humor and playfulness are essential to this method's effectiveness
Build on others' terrible ideas-you don't have to flip your own
In review, celebrate clever flips-acknowledge the creative transformation from terrible to brilliant
Break through creative blocks with Worst Possible Idea in Ideadrive. Our two-round structure makes it easy to generate terrible ideas and flip them into brilliant solutions. Start your session and discover how being intentionally bad can lead to breakthrough innovation.