Validating Ideas by Playing Make Believe
The Power of Make-Believe: A Better Way to Stress-Test Your Next Big Idea
There’s a powerful question that can change the way you think about building something new :
What would have to be true for this idea to be the best choice for our customer?
This isn’t just a thought experiment — it’s the foundation of a collaborative validation technique that I call The Alignment Method. It’s similar in spirit to playing devil’s advocate, but with a key philosophical twist : instead of trying to tear an idea down, you work together to construct the world in which it succeeds.
And that difference matters. Because instead of sharpening your defenses, you’re enriching your perspective.
From Criticism to Constructivism
While playing devil’s advocate thrives on opposition, make-believe is a cooperative exercise. A diverse group of participants from across functions — marketing, ops, legal, customer success, talent, product — join forces to imagine a world where your idea works brilliantly.
It’s a subtle shift, but a powerful one. This method doesn’t just test your idea. It builds alignment, creativity, and shared ownership across teams.
You’re not just validating an idea — you’re learning how to think like a system.
Let’s break it down.
What You’ll Need
You won’t need a research budget or a formal innovation lab. But you will need the right people and space.
Here’s what sets the stage :
- 3–6 participants, each from a different functional background
- A quiet, distraction-free room, ideally offsite or shielded from workplace noise
- A facilitator to guide the process and ensure it stays on track (can be you, but better if it’s someone neutral)
- Optionally, a scribe or AI assistant to take notes and summarize outcomes
This mix creates a healthy tension between imagination and execution. Diverse voices offer richer insights. A focused environment protects the mental bandwidth needed to build something meaningful.
And most importantly, everyone leaves the room feeling like a co-creator, not a critic.
What You’ll Do
The magic of this method lies in how it structures a creative group conversation. You’ll be constructing an imaginary — but plausible — world where your spark is the right move. Along the way, you’ll uncover assumptions, clarify gaps, and reveal the organizational shifts required to make that world a reality.
Here’s how to run the session :
Prep the Spark
Before you gather the group, prepare your idea as if explaining it to a complete outsider. Jot down key points. If the idea is complex, share a short written summary with participants ahead of time so they have context going in.
Set the Scene
Book a 1.5–2 hour block. Any shorter and you risk rushing the discussion. Any longer and attention spans start to fray.
Set ground rules :
- No one is here to criticize the idea.
- The goal is to collaboratively build the world in which the idea is the best choice for the customer.
- Keep contributions short and take turns in a round-robin format.
- “What if…” questions are gold — ask them often.
Then, define your customer. Is this an external buyer or an internal stakeholder? The exercise still works either way — just make sure the group shares the same understanding.
Present the Idea
Share your idea clearly, concisely, and without interruption (except for clarifying questions).
When you’re done, pose the anchor question to the group:
“What would need to be true in order for this idea to be the best choice for the customer?”
Build the World
Start a round-robin. Each participant answers the question by contributing one piece of the puzzle :
- Maybe marketing says, “Customers would need to already trust us in this category.”
- Legal adds, “Regulations would need to shift to make this compliant.”
- Ops notes, “We’d need to scale fulfillment by 30% without doubling headcount.”
Piece by piece, a world takes shape.
After a few rounds, the conversation will naturally open up. Participants will ask each other clarifying questions. Let this happen — but keep the tone constructive, not adversarial.
Refine the Picture
Once the world is mostly built, ask for suggested revisions. This is a second, looser round-robin where people can amend or elaborate on earlier contributions.
Facilitators should keep things moving, ensuring no one dominates the discussion but everyone is heard.
At the end of this phase, the scribe or facilitator reads back the full list of “must-be-trues.”
What Happens Next?
Now comes the truth test.
Ask the group :
- Is this reasonable today?
- What would need to change in our business to make these conditions true?
Let the group explore. Don’t force consensus — just surface insights.
Then ask :
“Overall, do you think this idea is viable and worth pursuing?”
Each participant gives a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
For any thumbs-downs, ask why. Again, keep it exploratory — not debate for debate’s sake. You’re looking for friction points, not winners and losers.
Finally, gather all notes, contributions, and feedback into a shared document. This becomes both a record and a roadmap.
Why It Works
This isn’t brainstorming. It’s not a strategy session. It’s something in between: an exercise in collaborative foresight.
Here’s why it works so well :
- It promotes alignment. Everyone’s focused on a common goal: uncovering what conditions would make the idea viable.
- It avoids unnecessary conflict. Because the idea isn’t under attack, people contribute more freely.
- It creates rich insight. The diversity of perspectives helps uncover blind spots.
- It builds team trust. You’re modeling creative collaboration across silos.
In many organizations, this is the kind of structured yet human conversation that rarely happens — but should.
Where It Can Fall Short
Of course, it’s not perfect.
- It doesn’t scale well. More than 6 people and the session bogs down.
- Personality dynamics matter. Strong opinions or dominant voices can derail the process unless actively moderated.
- It’s not a replacement for market feedback. Internal alignment ≠ external validation.
- Groupthink is real. Especially if the participants are too similar or overly optimistic.
If your team is running hot — always busy, always reactive — this exercise can also fall flat. People need space to think for this to be effective. That’s why scheduling it as part of a leadership retreat or offsite often works best.
Ready to Try It?
If you’re building something bold and want a smarter way to vet it — without the usual resistance or performative brainstorming — make-believing it might just be your new favourite tool.
It’s lightweight. It’s collaborative. And it works as a forcing function to bring stakeholders together in a productive, focused way.
You’ll be surprised how much clarity a little imagination can create.
Want a head start?
I’ve included a downloadable template at the end of the original Substack post to help you run your own Make-Believe session. Check it out and dig deeper into this method in the original post : https://6catalysts.substack.com/p/testing-ideas-the-alignment-method-new