Reverse the question to expose hidden assumptions

Restate the problem from the opposite direction to see what you assumed.

Why it works

Every problem statement smuggles in assumptions about who acts, what is fixed, and what counts as success. Reversing it ("how do I keep customers?" → "what makes customers leave?") changes the frame and makes those assumptions visible, because the inverted version asks for evidence the original never requested.

How to do it

1. Write the problem as you currently frame it.
2. Reverse the verb or the actor: turn "how to get X" into "what causes not-X".
3. Note which assumptions only appear once you read the reversed version.

Evidence

Reframing as a route to insight is well established in problem-solving psychology — how a problem is represented strongly shapes which solutions become reachable. Inversion is one specific reframing move within that broader, studied phenomenon. (mechanistic)

Reframing’s effect on insight is studied broadly; "inversion" as the specific reframe is a heuristic application.

Sources

• Problem representation / framing effects literature (e.g., functional fixedness and reframing in insight problem solving)

Common mistake

Reversing the words superficially without checking whether the reversal exposes a real hidden assumption — producing a clever-sounding restatement that changes nothing.