AI Starter
Your brainstorming companion. When you need to generate ideas, explore concepts, or think creatively.
When to Use
| Trigger | Action |
|---|
| "Help me think about..." | Brainstorm ideas |
| "What if..." | Explore possibilities |
| "Give me ideas for..." | Generate options |
| "What else is true..." | Expand thinking |
| "Challenge this idea" | Reframe perspective |
| "Go deeper on..." | Dive into details |
| "List reasons to..." | Build arguments |
Core Capabilities
1. Idea Generation
You want to: [goal/goal/goal]
Starter questions:
- What is the core need?
- What problems exist?
- What's possible?
- What would be great?
- What are the options?
- What could work?
- What matters?
- What changes?
- What's new?
- What's next?
Then brainstorm 10+ ideas:
1. [idea 1]
2. [idea 2]
3. [idea 3]
4. [idea 4]
5. [idea 5]
6. [idea 6]
7. [idea 7]
8. [idea 8]
9. [idea 9]
10. [idea 10]
2. Perspective Shifting
Reframe the question:
Old: "How do we make this better?"
New: "What could be broken about this?"
Old: "We need more users"
New: "We need more trust"
Old: "This is expensive"
New: "This is premium"
Old: "The tool is slow"
New: "The process is complex"
3. Multi-Layer Thinking
Layer 1: What is it?
- Surface level
- Basic definition
Layer 2: How does it work?
- Mechanism
- Process
- System
Layer 3: Why does it matter?
- Context
- Relevance
- Impact
Layer 4: What follows from this?
- Consequences
- Implications
- Next steps
Layer 5: What could be different?
- Alternatives
- Improvements
- Innovations
Layer 6: What if it were true?
- Hypothetical
- Possibility
- Future
4. Challenge & Expand
Expand on: "Remote work"
Benefits:
- No commute
- Flexibility
- Better balance
- Global talent
- Lower cost
- Custom setup
- Location free
- Time saving
- Focus time
- Family time
Questions:
- What's missing?
- What could fail?
- What needs work?
- What could improve?
- What could change?
Refinements:
- Add async tools
- Add community
- Add support
- Add culture
- Add connection
Techniques
The "What If" Method
Start with: "What if..."
Then explore:
- What if we do it differently?
- What if we try this?
- What if it fails?
- What if it works?
- What if it scales?
- What if it changes?
The 5 Whys
Problem: "Low productivity"
Why 1: Team isn't focused
Why 2: Too many distractions
Why 3: Too many meetings
Why 4: No clear priorities
Why 5: No strategy
Answer: Create strategy
Solution: [action item]
Reverse Thinking
Instead of "How to do X?"
Ask "How could we NOT do X?"
Then flip:
- "Not doing X means Y"
- "Blocking X blocks Z"
- "Without X, we lose W"
Then solve:
- How to do Y instead
- How to get Z without X
- How to gain W without X
Examples
Example: Remote Work Ideas
What if we make remote work the default?
Benefits:
- Everyone works anywhere
- No commute needed
- Better balance
- Global hiring
- More flexibility
- Less waste
- Better environment
Risks:
- Social isolation
- Loss of culture
- Less collaboration
- Less connection
- Less energy
Solutions:
- Virtual teams
- Async work
- Better tools
- Online meetings
- Community building
- Digital culture
- Written comms
- Documented knowledge
Example: AI Education
What if AI changes education forever?
Possibility 1: Personalized learning
- AI adapts to each student
- Custom pace
- Tailored content
- Individual focus
Possibility 2: Teacher augmentation
- AI as assistant
- Better planning
- More time with students
- Focus on teaching
Possibility 3: Self-directed learning
- Students learn at own pace
- AI as tutor
- On-demand help
- As needed
Possibility 4: Knowledge explosion
- Everyone has access
- No barriers
- Democratization
- Universal education
Challenges:
- Teacher role change
- Privacy concerns
- Digital divide
- Content quality
- Human element
- Social skills
- Mental health
Example: Future Work
What does the future of work look like?
Vision 1: Decentralized
- No offices
- No managers
- No hierarchy
- Peer led
- Community driven
- Collaborative
Vision 2: AI-powered
- Personal assistants
- Auto tools
- Smart support
- Easy tasks
- Quick results
Vision 3: Hybrid model
- Mix it all
- Choose what fits
- Best of both
- Flexible
- Adaptive
Vision 4: Universal access
- Remote first
- Global work
- Borderless
- Unlimited
- Everyone wins
Quick Prompts
Idea Generation
"Give me 10 ideas about..."
"Here are 10 ways to..."
"Here's how we could..."
"One approach is..."
"Another way..."
Reframing
"Instead of X, what about Y?"
"How else could we say this?"
"What if we flipped it?"
"Let's think differently"
"New perspective:"
Deepening
"Why is this important?"
"How does this work?"
"What happens next?"
"What if it fails?"
"What could be better?"
Challenging
"What could go wrong?"
"What if we assume the opposite?"
"What's missing here?"
"What if it doesn't work?"
"How could this fail?"
Techniques in Action
Brainstorming
Task: "What's a good tool for remote teams?"
Idea storm (10 ideas):
1. Video conferencing
2. Chat comms
3. Project tracking
4. File sharing
5. Virtual whiteboard
6. Time zone finder
7. Async messaging
8. Screen sharing
9. Task automation
10. Knowledge base
Pick 3:
- Chat comms
- Video calls
- Project tracking
Expand:
- Add more tools
- How they connect
- What they solve
- What's missing
Reframing
"How do we get people to use the tool?"
Reframe:
- How do we make it obvious?
- How do we make it easy?
- How do we make it necessary?
- How do we make it valuable?
- How do we make it sticky?"
Then explore:
- Why would they want it?
- What problem does it solve?
- How does it help them?
- What's the benefit?
- What's the value?
Deepening
"AI in education"
Layer 1: What is it?
- AI tutors
- Personalized help
- Smart guidance
Layer 2: How does it work?
- Data-driven
- Adaptive
- Learns patterns
- Gives feedback
Layer 3: Why does it matter?
- Better learning
- Faster progress
- Personalized
- More support
Layer 4: What follows?
- Changed teaching
- New methods
- Different tools
- Better results
Layer 5: What could change?
- Teacher role
- Classrooms
- Curriculum
- Learning styles
- Outcomes
Layer 6: What if?
- What if it's perfect?
- What if it's wrong?
- What if it fails?
- What if it changes everything?
Challenging
"Remote work is great"
What if it's not?
What could go wrong?
What are the risks?
Challenges:
- Isolation
- Burnout
- Loss of culture
- Less connection
- Less innovation
- Fragmentation
- Bureaucracy
- Distance
Solutions:
- Add support
- Better tools
- More connection
- Stronger culture
- More community
- Better comms
- More help
Tools & Workflows
For Brainstorming
- Mind mapping - Visual branches
- List making - Simple ideas
- Word clouds - Key themes
- Tag cloud - Important words
- Cluster groups - Related ideas
- Matrix - Compare options
For Planning
- 3x3 matrix - 3 levels, 3 items
- Timeline - temporal sequence
- Impact map - effects and results
- Risk matrix - probability x impact
- Value grid - value x effort
- Decision matrix - evaluate choices
For Prioritization
P0 - Must have
(Critical)
- Core requirement
- No-go without
- Blocker
P1 - Should have
(Important)
- Key feature
- Must include
- Essential
P2 - Could have
(Nice to have)
- Good to have
- Enhancement
- Better
P3 - Want to have
(Fancy stuff)
- Cool add-on
- Extra
- Delighter
Common Patterns
Divergent Thinking (Expand)
"Here are 100 ways to do it..."
List many ideas:
1. Approach 1
2. Approach 2
3. Approach 3
4. ...
50. ...
...
100. ...
Pick best 10:
- 1, 5, 12, 17, 23, 34, 45, 67, 89, 99
Convergent Thinking (Focus)
Now choose the best ones:
- 1 and 5 - Same, pick 5
- 12 and 17 - Related, pick 17
- 23, 34, 45 - Same cluster, pick 23
- 67, 89, 99 - Similar, pick 99
Final set:
- Best approach
- Better way
- Solid option
- Good plan
- Clear path
- Simple solution
- Smart choice
- Fast route
- Easy way
- Smart path
Multi-Perspective
View 1: Optimist
- Everything works
- All possibilities
- Best case
View 2: Realist
- Most likely
- Balanced view
- Middle ground
View 3: Pessimist
- What could fail
- Risks and issues
- Worst case
Templates
Brainstorm Template
# Ideas: [topic]
## Context
[why we're brainstorming, what's the goal]
## 10 Core Ideas
1. [idea 1]
2. [idea 2]
3. [idea 3]
4. [idea 4]
5. [idea 5]
6. [idea 6]
7. [idea 7]
8. [idea 8]
9. [idea 9]
10. [idea 10]
## Top 3
**Best:** [idea #]
**Second:** [idea #]
**Third:** [idea #]
## Why these?
[explain why these 3 make it]
## Next steps
1. [action 1]
2. [action 2]
3. [action 3]
Framework Template
# Framework: [name]
## Core Principle
[central idea, guiding principle]
## Layer 1: Foundation
[what it is, basic definition]
- Description
- Examples
- Basics
## Layer 2: Mechanism
[how it works, processes]
- How it functions
- How it operates
- How it works
## Layer 3: Context
[why it matters, relevance]
- Importance
- Relevance
- Significance
## Layer 4: Implications
[what follows, consequences]
- Consequences
- Implications
- Next steps
## Layer 5: Alternatives
[what else, options]
- Other ways
- Alternatives
- Options
## Layer 6: Future
[what could be, possibilities]
- Possibilities
- Future
- What if
## Applications
[how to use it, practical uses]
- Use case 1
- Use case 2
- Use case 3
## Benefits
[advantages, value]
- Advantage 1
- Advantage 2
- Advantage 3
## Risks
[disadvantages, concerns]
- Risk 1
- Risk 2
- Risk 3
Quick Guide
# How to use this tool
## When
- When you want ideas
- When you need to think
- When you want options
- When you want to explore
- When you want to expand
- When you want to deepen
## How
1. State your question
2. Brainstorm 10+ ideas
3. Pick the best
4. Refine the top
5. Plan your next
## What makes it work
- It's simple
- It's flexible
- It's adaptable
- It's open
- It's inclusive
- It's creative
- It's diverse
- It's explorative
- It's expansive
- It's generative
Quick Start Prompts
Generating
- "Give me 10 ideas about..."
- "What are 20 ways to..."
- "Here's how we could..."
- "One approach is..."
- "Another way..."
- "What if we try..."
- "What else could..."
- "What matters about..."
- "What changes with..."
- "What's next..."
Reframing
- "How else could we..."
- "What if we said..."
- "Let's think differently"
- "New perspective:"
- "换个角度"
- "换个思路"
- "换个方式"
- "换个角度"
- "换个思路"
- "换个方法"
Deepening
- "Why does this matter?"
- "How does it work?"
- "What happens next?"
- "What if it fails?"
- "What could improve?"
- "What's missing?"
- "What else could..."
- "What could happen..."
- "What if we..."
- "What's the next step?"
Challenging
- "What could go wrong?"
- "What if we assume..."
- "What's not considered?"
- "What if it doesn't..."
- "How could this fail?"
- "What's the risk?"
- "What if it fails?"
- "What could break?"
- "What could change?"
- "What if this..."
Examples
Idea Generation
Problem: "People don't read documentation"
10 ways to fix:
1. Make docs shorter
2. Make it easier
3. Add examples
4. Add visuals
5. Make it interactive
6. Add quick start
7. Make it searchable
8. Write better
9. Automate finding
10. Show, don't tell
Top 3:
1. Show, don't tell
- Examples first
- Code snippets
- Visuals
2. Quick wins
- Start simple
- Show value
- Make it work
3. Make it fun
- Gamify learning
- Make it fun
- Add interactivity
Reframing
Old: "How do we sell more?"
New: "How do we solve more problems?"
Old: "We need more users"
New: "We need more trust"
Old: "The app is too big"
New: "The app is feature-rich"
Deepening
Level 1: What is remote work?
- Working from home
- Flexible location
- Remote teams
Level 2: How does it work?
- Async communication
- Video calls
- Project tools
- Digital docs
- Time zone coordination
Level 3: Why does it matter?
- Global hiring
- Work-life balance
- No commute
- Location freedom
- Flexibility
Level 4: What follows?
- Changed cities
- Different hubs
- New patterns
- Remote economy
- Distributed orgs
Level 5: What could be different?
- Future model
- Permanent shift
- New normal
- Evolved work
- Next generation
Level 6: What if it transforms everything?
- World impact
- Social change
- Economic shift
- Cultural evolution
- Fundamental change
Challenging
Assumption: "Remote work is perfect"
Test: What could fail?
Problems:
- No face time
- Less connection
- No community
- Less energy
- More isolation
- Bureaucratic
- Hard decisions
- Lost vision
What if it's not perfect?
- We need more than just remote
- We need remote + connection
- We need culture + tech
- We need both
Solution:
- Remote work + strong comms
- Async + sync
- Better culture
- Strong tools
- Connection focus
Final Notes
This skill helps you:
- Think bigger - expand possibilities
- Think deeper - go deeper into meaning
- Think different - try new angles
- Think better - challenge assumptions
- Think faster - speed through ideas
Remember:
- Start broad - explore everything
- Then focus - pick the best
- Iterate - refine your ideas
- Collaborate - gather feedback
- Keep going - keep improving
Made for you, goodjin. 🤖
