Reverse brainstorm, make it worse, flip the problem, opposite approach. Ask "How could this get worse?" then invert answers into solutions. Effective when conventional brainstorming stalls.
Scanned 5/27/2026
Install via CLI
openskills install radesjardins/RAD-Claude-Skills---
name: reverse-brainstorm
description: >
Reverse brainstorm, make it worse, flip the problem, opposite approach. Ask "How
could this get worse?" then invert answers into solutions. Effective when conventional
brainstorming stalls.
argument-hint: "[problem to reverse-brainstorm]"
---
Apply Reverse Brainstorming to: **$ARGUMENTS**
This technique works by first asking "How could this problem get WORSE?" then inverting those answers into potential solutions.
## Step 1: Reverse the Problem
"Instead of solving this, think about how to make it as bad as possible. How could [the problem] be guaranteed to get worse?"
Encourage wild, exaggerated answers. The more ridiculous, the better — they often contain the most insight.
## Step 2: Generate Reverse Ideas Together
Capture 8-12 "worst possible" ideas. Build on each other's bad ideas.
Follow the anti-anchoring protocol from `references/facilitation-principles.md`: let the user generate "worst" ideas first before adding alternatives.
## Step 3: Invert
For each "worst" idea, flip it: "If doing X makes it worse, what does the opposite tell us about a solution?"
## Step 4: Evaluate the Inversions
Which inversions suggest genuinely novel solutions? Which reveal hidden assumptions about the problem?
## Step 5: Synthesize
Present the top 3-5 solution candidates that emerged from the reversal process.
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