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The Power of “What If” Questions

We often have trouble conceiving innovative business
IDEATION models because we are held back in our thinking by the
status quo. The status quo stifl es imagination. One way
to overcome this problem is to challenge conventional
140140 assumptions with “what if” questions. With the right
business model ingredients, what we think of as impos-
DESIGN sible might be just doable. “What if” questions help
us break free of constraints imposed by current models.
They should provoke us and challenge our thinking.
They should disturb us as intriguing, diffi cult-to-execute
propositions.

Managers of a daily newspaper might ask themselves:
What if we stopped our print edition and went to
entirely digital distribution, through Amazon’s Kindle
e-book reader or through the Web? This would allow the
newspaper to drastically reduce production and logistics
costs, but would require making up lost print advertising
revenues and transitioning readers to digital Channels.

“What if” questions are merely starting points. They
challenge us to discover the business model that could
make their suppositions work. Some “what if” questions
may remain unanswered because they are too provoca-
tive. Some may simply need the right business model to
become reality.

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