Play The "What If?"
Game
By Robert Evans Wilson, Jr.
© 2000, Robert Evans Wilson, Jr.
Here's a fun Innovation Tool™
that can be used by both individuals and groups. It's called the What
If? Game, and I first started using it many years ago to help with
writing fiction. You can use it as a powerful creative thinking
technique to make your business more competitive.
As a writer I would begin a story with an intriguing scene by asking a
question such as, "What if I woke up one morning, the birds singing
outside, the warm sunlight coaxing my eyelids open to a room I'D NEVER
SEEN BEFORE?" I might continue and ask a few more What If questions,
"What if I rolled over to find a DEAD BODY lying next to me?" and "What
if there was A GUN in my hand?"
Once a suitable scenario was set up, I'd go back and fill in the
blanks. "How did I get there? Who am I? What is my name? Where am I
from? What do I do for a living?" And, so on. Before long, I've written
a book.
Now you can use this same Innovation Tool to
generate new ideas for making your company more profitable or
productive. Begin by considering one aspect of your business such as
your typical customer, your location, or one of your products, and ask
questions: "What if all my customers were Chinese?" "What if a twister
picked up my building and dropped it completely intact in
Then answer the question as fully and completely as you can. See where
it takes you. Do some research if necessary: "If all my customers are
Chinese, then I'd better start learning their language and customs.
I'll probably have to modify the way I market my business. I may even
have to change things like my hours of operation..."
If your building landed in
In the early 1980s I met a man who had bought a failing dry-cleaning
business for very little money. It was failing because the demographics
of the neighborhood had changed from white-collar to blue. With fewer
business suits to be cleaned, the need for a dry-cleaner was shrinking.
The enterprising new owner, noticed -- not unexpectedly in a blue
collar neighbor -- that blue jeans were the pants of choice. He further
noticed that when the residents dressed up, they still wore blue
jeans... however these were designer jeans (of course it was the fad at
the time). Perhaps he asked the question: "What If the
only thing to be dry-cleaned around here are blue jeans?"
How would you answer that question? This creative entrepreneur answered
it by advertising Special Discounts on dry-cleaning for designer jeans.
He put up signs suggesting that washing machines prematurely wore out
jeans. And, before long business was booming and people were bringing
in all their denim: shirts, jackets even non-designer jeans. I visited
the store once and the motorized oval rack, familiar to all
dry-cleaning establishments, spun solid blue.
Try some more What If questions. "What if there were no clocks?" How
would you know how long to stay at work? "What if I couldn't
advertise?" How would you inform prospects about your business? "What
if all my customers were blind?" How would you show them your products?
Try the game different ways. Here's one you can play it while sitting
at your desk. Select two objects from your desk top... or two products
that you sell... or two objects at random from a catalog, then invent
something new by asking, "What if I combined my Diet Coke can with my
Robert Wilson is an advertising consultant and speaker, contact him at www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.