Use a stepping-stone idea: an intermediate impossible idea
Generate a deliberately impractical intermediate idea to use as a bridge to a practical one you could not have reached directly.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Generate a deliberately impractical intermediate idea to use as a bridge to a practical one you could not have reached directly.
- Why it works: When reasoning within the space of feasible ideas, the mind is constrained by what is already known to work. An intermediate stepping-stone idea — explicitly impossible or impractical — temporarily extends the possibility space beyond feasibility, allowing the thinker to reach a vantage point from which a new, practical idea becomes visible. The stepping stone is discarded; the new vantage point is kept.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Getting attached to the stepping-stone idea and trying to make it feasible rather than using it as a bridge — the value is in where it takes your thinking, not in the idea itself.
Why it works
When reasoning within the space of feasible ideas, the mind is constrained by what is already known to work. An intermediate stepping-stone idea — explicitly impossible or impractical — temporarily extends the possibility space beyond feasibility, allowing the thinker to reach a vantage point from which a new, practical idea becomes visible. The stepping stone is discarded; the new vantage point is kept.
How to do it
- 1State where you are stuck.
- 2Generate an exaggerated, impractical version of the solution: one that would obviously work if cost, physics, or social acceptability were no obstacle.
- 3From that extreme idea, "step back" toward feasibility: what is the closest practical version of this?
- 4Repeat: step back again. What is practical about the step-back?
- 5Evaluate the practical idea on its own merits — the stepping stone is no longer needed.
What the evidence says
MechanisticThe stepping-stone technique operationalizes a form of analogical distance: beginning from a distant or extreme conceptual position and converging toward a practical solution traverses a larger solution space than staying close to the feasible edge throughout. This is consistent with research on intermediate analogy and creative distance in problem solving.
Honest caveat: The specific stepping-stone format is de Bono’s; the underlying principle of using extreme ideas as cognitive scaffolding is consistent with but not isolated in direct experiments.
Common mistake
Getting attached to the stepping-stone idea and trying to make it feasible rather than using it as a bridge — the value is in where it takes your thinking, not in the idea itself.
IX Coach can walk you through a stepping-stone sequence when you are stuck on a personal goal — generating the extreme version first, then stepping back to what is actually actionable for you today.
Practice this with IX Coach →