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What Would X Do?

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What Would X Do? card illustration

What is What Would X Do??

What Would X Do? is a card from the Idea Tactics deck by Pip Decks.

Ask questions like ‘What would Banksy do?’, ‘What would Lisa Simpson do?’ or ‘What would Rolex do?’ to uncover new creative paths.

Make sure you Frame your challenge first. For best results, Prime and Explore before you try this tactic.

When to use What Would X Do?

  • Stagnation in product development
  • Need for brand revitalization
  • Overcoming creative blocks
  • Exploring new market opportunities
  • Generating innovative marketing strategies
  • Problem-solving in strategic planning
  • Team brainstorming sessions lacking direction

How to use What Would X Do?

  1. Assign each participant a person, character or brand to embody. Pick figures or archetypes that are extreme in some way. If you prefer, you can divide your group into small teams of two or three for this task.

  2. Set a timer for 3 minutes and get each individual or team to explore what they know about X using Mind Maps. These don’t need to be shared or discussed.

  3. Now they’ve reflected on what makes their persona tick, it’s time to imagine how they’d approach the challenge at hand.

    Set a timer for 5 minutes and get each individual/team to write down as many ideas as they can on sticky notes, what would X do if we gave them this brief?

    Remind everyone that you’re looking for quantity here rather than ready-to-use ideas.

  4. Have each individual/team spend 1 minute talking through their ideas.

  5. Invite everyone to draw a star on any ideas that hint at a real opportunity (max three stars per person).

  6. Use a tactic like Eight-Box Blitz to explore potential executions or adaptations of the starred ideas before you move into the Refine phase.

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Idea Tactics

Ditch creative block and find your best ideas.

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Back to Idea Tactics

Eight-Box Blitz

This tactic was formerly known as Crazy Eights. Quickly capture eight ideas or options in response to any question.

Worst Idea Race

Get weak ideas out of the way so the good ones are easier to find.

Angels & Demons

Shine a light on any issues that might hold your idea back and identify what will improve its chances of success.

Boss Mode

Keep activities and processes feeling fresh with next-level tips and provocations.

Draw Your Job

Get people to sketch a picture that describes their job or their role on a particular project.

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