Page 45 · Module 01, Think Like a Strategist · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksSCAMPER
Seven creative lenses to transform any idea
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
Run SCAMPER on your competitors' products, not just your own. Ask 'what would happen if a competitor applied SCAMPER to our product?' The answers will tell you your vulnerabilities before they do.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should reason through this problem? The quality of your thinking is shaped by whose lens you borrow. A strategist and a risk analyst look at the same problem and see completely different things — both useful, both necessary. Before you prompt, choose who you need in the room. These profiles give you six internal perspectives and four outside views that challenge your assumptions before you commit to them.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesYou need to innovate on an existing product, process, or idea but every direction feels like a variation of the same thing. You want structured creative thinking, not just brainstorming.
How the framework works
From the printed pageSCAMPER is a structured creativity tool built on seven lenses: Substitute (what can be replaced?), Combine (what can be merged?), Adapt (what can be borrowed from elsewhere?), Modify or Magnify (what can be changed or amplified?), Put to other uses (what else could this do?), Eliminate (what can be removed?), Reverse or Rearrange (what if we flipped the order?). Each lens forces a different angle on the same problem. Originally developed by Bob Eberle, building on Alex Osborn's brainstorming work.
The method, in 7 moves
Do these in orderDefine the product, process, or idea you want to innovate on.
Ask AI to apply all seven SCAMPER lenses to your specific situation.
Look for combinations, often the best idea comes from two lenses together.
Select the 2–3 most viable directions and develop them further.
Have I applied SCAMPER to the constraint itself, not just the product or service?
Which of the seven lenses am I most likely to skip because it feels too radical?
Would my best competitor use one of these moves to disrupt me if I don't use it first? QUICK CHECK
Where the framework comes from
Bob Eberle, SCAMPER, 1971 — based on Alex Osborn's brainstorming work, 1953
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 01 — Think Like a Strategist
Learn to work with AI. Then learn to think. Both are non-negotiable.
13 frameworks, printed on pages 22–47.
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