Inversion is a switch from asking “how can I succeed?” and doing that, to, “how can I fail?” and avoiding that. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to not solve the problem. Ask, ‘what solutions won’t work?’ and by process of elimination you’ll hone in on the direction you need to go. Answering the opposite question will also expose your own ideas to parts you may not have considered before. For us in day to day management, a simple example of ‘invert, always invert’, is to invert the question. The question may be ‘how can we (succeed and) achieve X goal by Y time?’. This is a very standard question, but the problem may be complicated and people may get very stuck in the finding of the answer or answers...this may well be despite the overgrowing analysis of the issue. Stop there. Invert! Reframe the issue as follows: ‘How can we completely and thoroughly screw up and fail miserably?’ Restart now. I can guarantee you that renewed energy will come to the collective brains.. While both thinking forward and thinking backwards result in some action, you can think of them as additive vs. subtractive. And the difference is meaningful. Despite the best intentions, thinking forward increases the odds that you'll cause harm (iatrogenics). Thinking backwards, call it subtractive avoidance or inversion, is less likely to cause harm. Inverting the problem won't always solve it, but it will help you avoid trouble. You can think of it as the avoiding stupidity filter.