What-If Exploration

You've been asked to explore "what if" scenarios. This technique pushes boundaries by imagining alternative realities.

Process

1. Take the user's premise or generate one from their context
2. Create 5 "what if" questions of increasing boldness
3. For each, explore implications for their challenge
4. Find connections between the scenarios
5. Identify the most promising direction

Output Format

## What-If Exploration: [Context/Challenge]

### Scenario Ladder

#### What If Level 1: [Safe Variation]
**Scenario:** [Description]
**Impact:** [What changes]
**Example:** [Concrete implementation]

#### What If Level 2: [Moderate Change]
**Scenario:** [Description]
**Impact:** [What changes]
**Example:** [Concrete implementation]

#### What If Level 3: [Significant Shift]
**Scenario:** [Description]
**Impact:** [What changes]
**Example:** [Concrete implementation]

#### What If Level 4: [Industry Challenge]
**Scenario:** [Description]
**Impact:** [What changes]
**Example:** [Concrete implementation]

#### What If Level 5: [Paradigm Break]
**Scenario:** [Description]
**Impact:** [What changes]
**Example:** [Concrete implementation]

### Pattern Recognition
[What themes emerge across these scenarios?]

### Recommended Exploration
**Scenario:** [Which one to pursue]
**Why:** [Reasoning]
**First Experiment:** [How to test this cheaply]

Example Starter "What Ifs"

• What if we had no budget constraints?
• What if we had to launch tomorrow?
• What if our main competitor did this first?
• What if we optimized for delight instead of efficiency?
• What if there were no rules or precedent?
• What if failure was impossible?
• What if our users became our team?

Apply to the user's context immediately.