One question is missing : "what if we had to pay for our environmental footprint" ?<p>Since so few ask it in a meaningful way, I dare to say it is still, unfortunately, a pretty extreme questions for those it should be asked to.
I don’t hold most startup accelerators in high regard, but the one very stimulating activity we did was based on the ‘business model canvas’. It’s a marginally useful thing in itself to document all the moving parts of your business (real or imagined) but I really enjoyed a session we spent just working on hypotheticals like in this article, like what if this key resource is no longer available? What if you need new channels? You immediately realise that your business is a vector in a high-dimensional space and you can explore in any direction you like looking for some sort of fit. It was a great way of shaking us out of linear thinking, and instilling a sense of agility all the way down in a company.
I like this. In the past, we've considered making our B2C products completely free, as a way to drastically increase our rate of adoption and spur further adoption of our B2B product (which is much more lucrative).<p>But we've never pulled the trigger, out of a fear that we'd be giving up existing revenue, and because it would make it hard to start charging again later if we decided it was the wrong decision.<p>Although I like this, I'm still not quite sure what to do with my answers to these big questions. That is, I shouldn't just go and do things because it popped into my head as an answer to an extreme question. If it were a low-risk great idea, on the other hand, I should obviously do it. But what about all those ideas in the middle, which seem like they carry a significant risk, but could also yield a significant reward?
The application of whatever conceptual model was being used here doesn't encompass the biggest innovations of the last few decades, open-source and user-generated content.<p>Or in terms of the language of the article:<p><pre><code> how can we enlist the customer to work for us for free?</code></pre>
<p><pre><code> What would be the most fun thing to build?
</code></pre>
This really got me thinking, and excited!<p>But then…<p><pre><code> It has to be something that makes our product better, not a random technology or unrelated market.
</code></pre>
:(
Boo! Not so much fun anymore.
Very thought provoking read.<p>One question I do wonder at times, and is probably applicable here is: "what if I removed all the constraints, what would I do differently and how would things change?". Eg: Suppose nuclear fusion is successful, and you can actually power whole of earth for 800 years with 1 cup of hydrogen. That is, you don't have to worry about energy anymore. How would that change the human behavior both in short and long term? Or to go to a more individual level, "If time wasn't a constraint for me, would I ship it differently?" and so on.
“Brainstorming” is hard—staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering whether someone could make a real-life “dark mode” whiteboard, then realizing that’s what a blackboard is, only dustier - this cracked me up!
<p><pre><code> If you were never allowed to provide tech support, in any form, what would
have to change?
</code></pre>
Am I the only one who thinks that the answer to that question, for quite a few companies, is, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, that's pretty much what we do right now."