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Exercises/Divergent Ideation/Why It Won’t Work
Ideation Warm-Up · Divergent Ideation

Why It Won’t Work

Simple solution to discovering what ideas, projects, and groups won"t work and optionally what is really LPSRUWDQW

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25)GROUP SIZE
QuietENERGY
In personSETTING
Medium cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Participation Architecture This divergent ideation exercise strengthens Participation Architecture, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Red - write notes that explain why there might be a problem or issue and there is a chance it might not■ ZRUN Yellow RSWLRQDO - write notes that express caution or 'have you considered XYZ" in your solution
  2. This is■ important to make sure that the solutions of the gathering are comprehensive Green RSWLRQDO - write notes that offer praise or support for specific elements to make sure that they■ are absolutely built into the final solution Make sure to ask each person to sign their name on the Post-It so that if someone is trying to fix their
  3. solution, they can go back to the person that had a great comment" and people have really bad KDQGZULWLQJ
  4. After everyone fills in their notes, place the Post-Its directly where the comment is reflected
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

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Prompts to use +

Red - write notes that explain why there might be a problem or issue and there is a chance it might not■ ZRUN Yellow RSWLRQDO - write notes that express caution or 'have you considered XYZ" in your solution

This is■ important to make sure that the solutions of the gathering are comprehensive Green RSWLRQDO - write notes that offer praise or support for specific elements to make sure that they■ are absolutely built into the final solution Make sure to ask each person to sign their name on the Post-It so that if someone is trying to fix their

solution, they can go back to the person that had a great comment" and people have really bad KDQGZULWLQJ

After everyone fills in their notes, place the Post-Its directly where the comment is reflected

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Why It Won’t Work. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Red - write notes that explain why there might be a problem or issue and there is a chance it might not■ ZRUN Yellow RSWLRQDO - write notes that express caution or 'have you considered XYZ" in your solution; This is■ important to make sure that the solutions of the gathering are comprehensive Green RSWLRQDO - write notes that offer praise or support for specific elements to make sure that they■ are absolutely built into the final solution Make sure to ask each person to sign their name on the Post-It so that if someone is trying to fix their; solution, they can go back to the person that had a great comment" and people have really bad KDQGZULWLQJ; After everyone fills in their notes, place the Post-Its directly where the comment is reflected. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with