Impossible Assignment

Purpose

Impossible Assignment pushes teams to tackle an absurdly ambitious version of their challenge — “What if we had to do this in 24 hours?” or “What if budget were unlimited?” By removing perceived constraints, the exercise unlocks radical thinking and often reveals that the ‘impossible’ version is closer to achievable than anyone assumed.

At a glance

• Group size: 4–15
• Duration: 15 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Facilitation style: High energy, provocative
• Setting: In-person or virtual

How to run

1. State the real challenge (1 min). Write the actual project goal on the board.
2. Make it impossible (2 min). Add a radical constraint or amplifier: 10x the speed, 1/10 the budget, 100x the scale, or reaching an entirely different audience.
3. Brainstorm solutions (7 min). Teams brainstorm how they would achieve the impossible version. No idea is too wild.
4. Extract the feasible (3 min). Review the impossible solutions. Ask: “Which elements of these wild ideas could actually work in our real context?”
5. Select and plan (2 min). Choose 1–2 feasible elements to explore further.

Materials needed

• Whiteboard or flip chart
• Sticky notes and markers
• Timer

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Not going wild enough. If the impossible version feels plausible, it’s not impossible enough.
• Dismissing ideas too quickly. The extraction step is where value lives — give every idea a chance.
• Forgetting to connect back to reality. The exercise is fun but useless without the feasibility filter.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Frame the exercise as playful and low-stakes to encourage shy participants.
• Accept all ideas without judgement during the brainstorm phase.
• Provide the impossible prompt in writing as well as verbally.

Variations

• 10x Challenge: Specifically focus on 10x-ing one dimension (users, revenue, speed).
• Zero-budget Impossible Assignment: What if we had to achieve this with absolutely no money?
• Time-travel version: What would we do if we had to achieve this yesterday?

When NOT to use this

• When the team is already overwhelmed and needs practical, incremental solutions.
• When the challenge is simple and doesn’t benefit from radical reframing.

Source & further reading

• Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010). *Gamestorming.* O’Reilly Media.
• Diamandis, P. H. & Kotler, S. (2012). *Abundance.* Free Press.