Zoom Problem Ladder

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Generate diverse solution angles for a challenge by first brainstorming broad concepts and narrowing back down to specific tactics.

Use it when: Use when a team is stuck on narrow, repetitive solutions for an operational or product challenge.

Skip it when: Skip when the group has not agreed on the core problem or needs quick tactical consensus on an immediate emergency.

Group arrangement: Two to four teams of 3 to 6 participants each

Timing: Thiagi's original design uses 5 rounds of 3-minute brainstorming (15 minutes) plus question laddering and review. Total structured time is 35 minutes.

Materials and tools

• 5 index cards per team
• 1 rubber band per team
• 1 flip chart pad or 5 sheets of blank paper per team
• 1 marker per team
• 1 countdown timer for the room

Before participants arrive

1. Form teams of 3 to 6 people at separate tables.
2. Place 5 index cards, 1 rubber band, blank flip chart paper, and markers on each table.

Say this to open

We often get stuck solving problems at a very narrow level. Today, each team will pick a challenge, expand it into four broader questions, and pass that stack to another team. That team will generate ideas starting from the widest perspective and zoom back into the specific challenge.

How to run it

1. Frame the initial question 5 minutes

   Explain the Arthur Van Gundy phrasing: 'In what ways might we...?' Teams choose one real challenge and write it as a specific question on their first index card. For example: 'In what ways might we sell books to professionals on the internet?'

2. Climb the ladder of abstraction 7 minutes

   Teams write four more questions on separate cards, each stepping up one level of abstraction. Demonstrate the ladder: 1. Sell books to professionals online. 2. Sell books online. 3. Sell things online. 4. Sell things. 5. Persuade and influence others. Teams stack the cards so the most abstract question is on top and the original specific question is at the bottom, then secure the stack with a rubber band.

3. Pass and brainstorm through 5 zoom levels 15 minutes

   Teams hand their packet to another team. If three or more teams participate, pass in a circle so no two teams simply swap. If only two teams participate, they swap packets directly. Announce five 3-minute rounds. In round 1, teams read only the top card and record ideas on flip chart paper. At each 3-minute signal, teams remove the top card, read the next question, and brainstorm new ideas that build upon earlier notes. Repeat until all five cards are finished.

4. Return stacks and review 5 minutes

   Teams return the idea sheets and card packets to the originating team. Originating teams read through the generated ideas, highlight the 3 most promising concepts, and note one immediate experiment.

5. Debrief 3 minutes

   Facilitate a brief whole-room debrief. Take comments from 2 or 3 volunteers on how the abstract starting points influenced their final specific solutions.

Debrief questions

• How did starting at the most abstract level change the kinds of ideas you developed for the specific problem?
• Which intermediate zoom level produced the most unexpected solution angles?
• What is one idea from the returned list that you would not have considered with standard brainstorming?

Finished output: A stack of five abstraction-ladder cards and a prioritized list of brainstormed ideas for each team's original challenge.

Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard with a distinct workspace for each team. Each workspace contains five numbered, masked frames covering the five abstraction questions from broadest to most specific. To pass packets, direct each team to navigate to another team's workspace while keeping frames covered. In each 3-minute round, the visiting team uncovers one question frame and records ideas using digital sticky notes inside that frame. When finished, teams return to their own workspace to review the ideas left by their peers.

Hybrid

Form fully virtual teams and fully in-person teams. Keep remote teams together on a digital whiteboard, while in-person teams use physical index cards and flip charts. If remote and in-person teams must exchange work, in-person scribes photograph their idea sheets and upload them to the shared board, while remote teams display their board frames on the room screen or paste their digital text into a shared doc for in-person review.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may contribute ideas orally, write on sticky notes, or act as the team scribe.
• Any participant may pass on speaking during the review phase without giving a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Teams write questions that change topic instead of climbing abstraction levels.

Intervene quickly during the writing step. Ask: 'Does this new question completely include the previous question as a specific example?'

Teams peek at the lower, specific cards before their assigned round.

Remind teams that the rubber band keeps the lower cards hidden so their thinking remains open to broad concepts.

Terms used here

• Ladder of abstraction: A framework describing concepts ranging from concrete, specific details up to broad, general categories.
• In What Ways Might We (IWWMW): A standard problem-framing phrase developed by Arthur Van Gundy to invite open exploration.