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1494 : STEP TWO – GENERATING NEW IDEAS

Sometimes the reversed approach is useful in itself. More often than
not, the reversal creates an ‘intermediate impossible’ position which
represents the stepping stone for a sound follow-up idea.

deliberately designing inefficiency Back in the 1870s, a leading
manufacturer of manual typewriters, Sholes & Co., was grappling with
how to solve the complaints which it frequently received about the keys
sticking together when the typist was too fast. Having addressed the
problem from the perspective of making the operation more efficient, it
used rule reversal to consider making the operation less efficient.

The insight of slowing the typist down led to the design of the
deliberately inefficient QWERTY keyboard, with the third and sixth
most frequently used letters in the English language – ‘O’ and ‘I’ – being
depressed by the hand’s relatively weaker fingers. The power of
conventional thinking is such that the QWERTY keyboard still persists,
despite the physical requirement for it having been made redundant
long ago by technological advance.

bringing the closed shop back into fashion Katharine Hamnett,
fashion designer of the clothing range which bears her name, wanted to
stimulate buyers’ interest in her clothes at various trade shows. Rather
than invite all the key buyers and distributors to her stand, she reversed
the rules by barring some people from coming. She boldly let it be
known that she was vetting people to see whether they were influential
enough to come in and review her designs.

As she later commented: ‘People got very wound up and were so
grateful when I let them in because they had met the so-called criteria.
It tainted their judgement in my favour.’117

mountain and mohammed A huge number of gyms were set up
during the health and fitness craze of the 1990s. The ‘rules’ were that
individuals came to the gym which was nearest to their work or home.
By reversing the rule so that the ‘gym’ came to the individual, a massive
industry of personal trainers was created.

killing with kindness A striking example of rule reversal in the field
of human politics was provided by the Russians in their alleged
treatment of Polish Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa. Desperate to be rid
of a political trouble-maker, and anxious to avoid antagonising the West