Extreme brainstorming
to trigger fresh ideas

Hello Product Leaders!

When I look back at my product career, asking powerful questions may be the most underrated skill during critical moments or meetings.

Do you recall being stuck in brainstorming sessions, trying to solve a problem or understand a user issue, and staring at a blank whiteboard?

I know it's frustrating.

As a product leader, you struggle to break free from routine and find fresh ideas.

But fear not!

I've got what you need for your next design or strategy sessions that'll spark your creativity, and demonstrate your leadership (and impress your team as a bonus)

I call it extreme questioning.

Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

• The paradox in ‘think outside of the box’

  • 1- No customers

  • 2- No tech support

  • 3- Biggest rival clone

  • 4- Rapid Fire

  • 5- Innovating Without Direct User Contact

  • 6- Unlimited Resources

  • 7- Existential Risks

  • 8- One Shot, One Impact

  • Key Takeaways

• In Case You Missed Them

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The paradox in ‘think outside of the box’

So apply extreme questioning and you will start thinking outside of the box.

It is almost like the first principle framework made famous by Elon Musk.

This paradox highlights the idea that by questioning assumptions or commonly accepted truths.

While questioning the obvious may seem counterintuitive, that will force you and your team to reframe a given problem and lead them to innovative ideas!

1- No customers

• Imagine, if we had to start from scratch with no customers, what would we build to grow our user base or product differently?
  
  I love this one

  I asked myself this question a lot and it forces you to make the right tradeoff especially if you have a large existing customer base.

  Without existing customers, would we streamline or remove certain features while adding new ones to enhance competitiveness?

  
  ✅ Rationale: Prioritizing future growth may require making bold moves, even if it temporarily upsets some customers. Remember, the potential customer base could be ten times larger in the future, but only if we adapt and innovate now.

2- No tech support

• If tech support were off-limits entirely, what changes would be necessary?

  
  To enhance self-service, how could product onboarding be revamped? This is crucial since users are often least familiar and motivated during initial setup.

  
  Where should the product offer more user control without support assistance? What information needs clearer visibility without the option to ask for help?

  
  ✅ Rationale: Improving self-service not only reduces costs and enhances scalability but also boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  Therefore, investing in significantly better self-service can yield both financial and customer satisfaction benefits.

3- Biggest rival clone

• Imagine if our biggest rival cloned every single feature we have. How would we still come out on top?

  
  Could the answer lie in our product's features, ease of use, design, or innovation? Or is it in our higher purpose, brand promise, or customer trust?

  
  ✅ Rationale: good ideas will be copied eventually. So, instead of focusing solely on features, let's aim for bigger emotional connections.

  
  After all, winning is about capturing hearts and minds.