This is a brilliant tool for cutting through groupthink and our natural tendency to plan for best-case scenarios. If you are about to sign-off on a big piece of work, try a Pre-Mortem to see if you can bring out hidden problems. It’s like a doing Post-Mortem before anyone has died.
Make a virtue of spotting potential flaws rather than covering them up and hoping for the best. And then, of course, make a plan for dealing with the worst problems you find.
Remember that the first half of this technique requires silent, solo working. This is important so that people don’t influence each other.
You need: 30 to 40 minutes, paper and pens.
Watch this video
Credit: This technique was created by Gary Klein, author of The Power of Intuition.
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