Forced Analogy / Structural Transplant — map the problem onto a structurally similar system from a distant domain (immune system, air-traffic control, restaurant kitchen, jazz ensemble) and transfer its mechanisms back. Use when a solution works but feels derivative, when the industry playbook is exhausted, or when a…
Edward de Bono's Provocation (Po) technique — state something deliberately wrong or absurd about the problem, then extract useful "movement" from it instead of judging it. Use when a constraint feels unbreakable, when every design converges on the same shape, or to escape "the way it's always done". Triggers include…
Edward de Bono's Random Stimulus technique — force-fit a random unrelated object, place, or phenomenon onto a creative target to break familiar association patterns. Use for product ideation, feature naming, brand direction, copywriting, architecture and design choices when ideas from outside the problem space would…
Maps the attention economy of a mind or situation — what captures it, what depletes it, and how to protect it. Use when asked 'why can't I focus', 'attention keeps getting pulled away', 'how do I protect deep work', 'what's stealing my focus', 'I keep getting distracted', or when designing environments, workflows, or…
Manages the limits of working memory — chunking, offloading, and reducing unnecessary complexity to free capacity for what matters. Use when asked 'this is too complex to hold in my head', 'I keep losing track of where I am', 'how do I make this simpler to think about', 'the design is overwhelming', 'people aren't…
Diagnoses collective action failures, public goods problems, and why individually rational behaviour produces collective irrationality. Triggers: 'collective action problem', 'tragedy of the commons', 'free rider', 'everyone is acting in their own interest but the result is bad for all', 'why won't people contribute'…
Cross-domain bridge thinking for stuck founders, creators, and builders. Finds pattern bridges from unrelated fields — biology, game design, physics, jazz, architecture, logistics — and maps them to your situation with explicit reasoning, pros/cons, and a first experiment. Use when stuck, plateaued, can't get…
Use when the user asks for an idea generator, conceptual crossbreeding, mutation, evolution, recombination of existing ideas, or novel concepts derived from unlike sources; also use for follow-ups that evolve, cross, or lock elements of previously generated ideas. Do not trigger for generic brainstorming with no…
Use when creative or marketing work risks premature convergence on the first plausible AI output, especially when benchmarks are present and must inform structure without causing imitation.
Generate agent skill ideas through problem-driven brainstorming. Situation-specific, narrow-but-universal. Triggers when user wants skill ideas or needs to expand their skill collection.