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Worst Idea Race
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What is Worst Idea Race?
Worst Idea Race is a card from the Idea Tactics deck by Pip Decks.
This activity will help you let go of perfectionism and enter creative flow. If you’ve done a ‘reverse brainstorm’, this tactic is the same thing but with a fast-paced, competitive twist.
After running this exercise, ‘real’ idea generation tactics like Lotus Blossoms and other Diverge activities will feel less intimidating.
When to use Worst Idea Race
- Stagnation in idea generation sessions
- Team struggling with perfectionism
- Need for rapid ideation in product development
- Overcoming fear of failure in brainstorming
- Breaking through creative blocks in marketing strategies
How to use Worst Idea Race
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Create a row of 15 empty sticky notes for each participant and put their name next to it.
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Explain that this is a game, the winner is the first person to fill their row with 15 bad ideas.
Tell them you want the worst possible responses to the creative challenge. What would make the problem even worse? What would make customers point and laugh? What would get us all sacked?
Set a 5-minute timer, the winner is either the first person to complete their row, or the person with the most bad ideas after 5 minutes.
Optional: consider adding a couple of minutes onto this task where people can identify any bad ideas that could be flipped or tweaked to make them good. You could use Like, Wish, Wonder for this, or simply ask people to draw stars next to any ideas that feel flippable, and then explain any potential value they’ve spotted.
