The easiest way to distinguish between an opportunity and a solution is to ask, “Is there more than one way to address this opportunity?” In this example, the only way to allow people to fast-forward through commercials is to offer a fast-forward solution. This isn’t an opportunity at all. Instead, we want to uncover the implied opportunity. Maybe it’s as simple as, “I don’t like commercials.” Why does this reframing help? If we then ask, “How might we address ‘I don’t like commercials’?” we can generate several options. We can create more entertaining commercials—like those we see during the
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