Flip Them on Their Head!

In a recent strategy meeting, a co-worker lamented about an upcoming concert: "Oh, he's been here tons of times, he's not playing the best-loved works of composers, he's not going to appeal to the die-hards or the newbies."

The director turned and said, "All of those things that you just listed as negative, try flipping them to positive: If he's been here so many times, he must be important to this institution; he is still playing works by masters; try finding angles where he will appeal to all camps."

"Flip them on their head," as I'd like to call it, is just about changing up your framing of a situation and pushing yourself (or others) to think from a different direction. It's is a fairly rudimentary, yet effective, tool. In addition to the three potential selling points the director flipped, the positive energy shifted group's thinking and it made it much easier to brainstorm more angles about the concert. 

So, when the going gets tough and you find the conversation down-spiraling into negativity, why not exclaim "flip them on their head!" (if not just to see the reaction you get)... But then also try coming from the exact opposite direction and seeing how the conversation changes.